As Jim Romenesko notes, it's hardly a surprise that the latest report by Moody's Investors Service forecasts that the outlook for newspapers and magazines in the United States "is negative through at least late 2015."

Indeed, the report makes for very gloomy reading for the owners and publishers of traditional media organisations, not to mention editors and journalists.

Other highlights (lowlights?) from the report:

* Digital subscriptions will plateau quickly. Although digital business is the fastest-growing category for publishers, growth will be smaller in 2014 and into 2015.

* The share of total US newspaper and magazine advertising will decline further as consumer reading habits continue to shift from newsprint, with competition from search engines, social media and digital video.

* There is little evidence that the industry will generate sufficient income from digital subscriber fees, non-print advertising or marketing services over the next year to offset stress on print volumes and pricing.

Moody's senior credit officer Carl Salas wrote in the report: "Companies will make some gains against this decline from ongoing investments in digital platforms, but not enough to prevent most publishing companies' performance from eroding."

But magazines may do better than newspapers because, says the report, "readers still demand glossy weekly and monthly magazine publications that target their interests."

Further consolidation of newspaper companies looks likely, creating fewer, but stronger, survivors.

Salas thinks the New York Times company will be among such survivors. "They're leading the pack in terms of digital growth," he said. They have "more cash than debt, which means they have the cushion to invest in their growth."

Sources: Jim Romenesko/Crain's