The newspaper business is growing despite pressure from online, Timothy Balding, chief executive officer of the World Association of Newspapers, told delegates at the World Newspaper Congress in Cape Town.
He said despite sceptism about the future of newspapers in the face of growing online readership and the change in consumer lifestyles, print remains the second biggest advertising platform after television, with a market share of 42 percent worldwide.
In South Africa, newspaper advertising has grown by 20 percent in the past year, and 141 percent in the past five years.
This is above the global average of four percent in 2005 and 15.6 percent between 2002 and 2006.
Citing research conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers, Balding said forecasts estimate that global advertising in print would have grown by 17.05 percent by 2010.
He said of the 216 newspapers surveyed globally, daily advertising revenue was up by 3.77 percent.
The circulation of daily titles was up by 3.46 percent globally with Japan remaining the biggest newspaper-buying country in the world.