New York - The largest newspaper publisher in the US, Gannett Co, reported a sharp drop in profits Wednesday as the flight of readers to the internet amid harsh economic conditions continued to wreak havoc in the newspaper industry.

The publisher of USA Today and more than 80 other newspapers said that profit dropped 36 per cent to 233 million dollars as advertising plummeted by 16.6 per cent.

The company said it will incur charges of 2.5 billion to 3 billion dollars to account for the company's declining market value as newspaper readership declines. Many readers still visit Internet news sites, but online advertising rates are still too low to cover the losses in print editions.

Total operating revenues for the company were 1.72 billion dollars in the second quarter, compared to 1.91 billion dollars in the second quarter of 2007. Following the release of the figures, Gannett stock dropped more than 5 per cent to a 52-week low of 15.93 dollars per share. (dpa)