Quote, unquote: Consumers' changing media habits challenge industry

“While we have seen consumer media usage remain generally flat over the past year, the way in which consumers are spending their time continues to evolve. No longer are newspaper and magazine subscription purchases and network prime-time viewing the norm. Instead, they are declining and consumers are spending more time with media which they support and pay for as opposed to ad-supported media,“ said Suhler. “This development is a culmination of two decades of this secular shift towards consumer-controlled media, and shows no signs of slowing.”

-- from a news release from U.S. private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson; it says that the insitutional sector and alternative media segments will drive overall communications spending for the next 5 years.