If there's no color, the color is red

This might seem trivial, but it means something. Look at the back page of the front section of Tuesday's newspaper. There's a big "Thanks to You" ad, where the Enquirer thanks its readers and advertisers for spending their money with the paper.

The back page of the front section is one of the best spots for advertising in the paper. It's a highly-visible full page, with full color available. The Enquirer can make a lot of money on this page, especially when it sells color. The fact that there's a house ad (that's what it's called when a newspaper advertises itself on its own pages) there means the Enquirer couldn't sell it. That's not good. The Enquirer has been selling this page less often recently:

• Week of Jan 14 -- six times (Sunday included)
• Week of Jan 21 -- three times (Sunday included)
• Week of Jan 28 -- two (one is black and white, Sunday not sold)
• Week of Feb 4 -- one (on Monday, black and white, Sunday not sold)

Most of these are Dillard ads. Monday's ad was a black and white ad for a real estate expo, and the Enquirer makes less money on black and white ads. Last Tuesday was another black-and-white ad for the Better Business Bureau Foundation, from more than a dozen featured advertisers, notably Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati Bell and Fifth Third. Note that the list of advertisers included the Business Courier and Channel 12, but not the Enquirer. I don't think the Enquirer made a whole lot of money on what was basically a public service ad.

This isn't as cut and dried as it used to be, because the Enquirer can print ads in color inside most sections -- as it did today, with the big "Gear Up" ad on page 5, or the Kroger double-truck on pages 8-9. This decline might be seasonal but the fact that the Enquirer doesn't fill this space regularly says the newspaper doesn't have enough demand for what should be a prime advertising spot in the newspaper. And what happens when you don't sell enough ads?