Radio revenue booms on ad sales for financial services, TV shows and cars.

While the local print and television media continue to struggle with ad venue, it's been a different story with radio.

Ad revenue through October of this year showed a 4.4 percent increase over the like period a year earlier, according to Miller Kaplan Arase LLP/TNS-CMR.

The local market outperformed the national market, which is projected to show about a 1 percent increase in advertising revenue, said Mary Beth Garber, president of the Southern California Broadcasters Association.

Los Angeles radio revenue is expected to rise over $1 billion this year, with top categories being automotive, communications, financial services and television.

Media buyers who specialize in radio said the market hasn't seen the downturn experienced by newspapers largely because it's a relatively inexpensive medium, which makes it attractive to L.A.'s smaller businesses. In addition, it's seen as a still effective competitor against the Internet and other alternative media.

Corissa Embro, president of ad-buying company Industry Media Specialists, said that domestic automakers spent much of their money promoting employee discount programs on radio. On the minus side, local stations saw few political ad dollars this year despite the record sums spent on the state's special election called by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Staff reporter Anne Riley-Katz can be reached at [phone], ext. 230, or at [e-mail].