Google bails on print advertising

After axing some of its more unsuccessful web projects and announcing a round of layoffs, Google has revealed plans to stop selling ads in print newspapers as well, saying the effort failed to deliver the impact it wanted. The move marks another cutback for the company in the face of a slumping economy and a failed attempt to help embattled newspapers bolster their ad revenue as the publishing industry gradually moves online.

The program launched in 2006 with 50 newspaper partners and expanded to 800, but it is now slated to close by the end of February. With this, the company hopes to free up resources to try and “come up with new and innovative online solutions that will have a meaningful impact for users, advertisers, and publishers” – which makes me wonder what the future of their other offline ad efforts, like radio and TV, might be.