Stung by labor strife, grocers pull back on advertising.

As supermarket labor troubles grind into their third month--and the all-important holiday season--local media outlets are feeling the pinch of a reduced advertising schedule by the big chains.

Ralphs Grocery Co., Vons and Albertsons Inc. are the region's biggest grocery advertisers and their limited pullback around the Thanksgiving holiday was felt at different levels by area television and radio stations and newspapers.

The concern now among media outlets is that the chains' lower profile will continue through December.

"The markets where the workers are on strike are making basic buys, but not at the dollars they historically would," said Paula Madison, vice president and general manager of KNBC (Channel 4). "While it's difficult to predict the December buying strategies of the supermarket chains, it appears that spending in the broadcast market by these advertisers will be affected as long as the strike continues."

On-and-off discussions between the grocery chains and the United Food and Commercial Workers started up again last week.

Print advertising by supermarkets is believed to be at lower than normal levels as well.

Officials of the Los Angeles Times declined comment, and calls to Los Angeles Newspaper Group, which own the Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram and several other local newspapers, were not returned.

Terry O'Neil, a spokesman for Ralphs, confirmed it had pulled back on its advertising.

"On some occasions we have cut back," he said. "We advertise in all the Southern California dailies and we still advertise on Wednesdays and Sundays, but we may have cut back at other times."

Albertsons and Vons officials did not return calls.

Although the grocery industry does not generate as much local ad revenue as the automotive, retail or telecommunications sectors, supermarkets did spend $98 million in local print and broadcast media in 2002, according to media-tracker Miller Kaplan Arase & Co. That was a 1.4 percent increase over 2001.

Of that, television received the largest portion, with $40.5 million. That was followed by newspapers ($29 million) and radio ($22.5 million).

Through September, before the strike began, spending in the grocery category was $62 million, slightly higher than last year. Radio ($21 million) and newspapers ($16 million) have enjoyed a larger share of supermarket ad dollars this year than last.

Although several broadcast executives declined to speak on the record, a couple confirmed that some ads had been cancelled and that supermarket spending was tracking about 10 percent below last year. Given the figures from earlier in the year, that means the decline in the past eight weeks has been even greater.

Seth Mendelson, editorial director for the Chicago-based monthly trade magazine Grocery Headquarters, said industry estimates had supermarket advertising in Los Angeles down about 30 percent in November.

"Part of the reason for cutting back is that they are trying to minimize the (public relations) damage," Mendelson said. "At Thanksgiving, with workers on the picket lines, the didn't want to rub it in anybody's face."

Still, the chains did run ads over Thanksgiving to get the word out about discounts, free turkeys and the like. And the cutbacks are not hurting everyone.

Bill Martinez, general sales manager for news-talk station KRLA-AM (870), said the impact has been "almost negligible." None of the big chains have cancelled ads, he said, and while the schedule may not be as busy in the past, increased advertising by competitor Trader Joe's Co. has made up the slack.

"(Trader Joe's) has been very aggressive with us," said Martinez, who estimated that supermarket advertising accounted for 5 percent to 7 percent of revenues at a typical Los Angeles station.

Mitigating the reduction in supermarket advertising has been an increase in automotive ads since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reversed the increase in the vehicle license fee on Nov. 17, his first day in office.

"There was about a two-week hiccup and now the car dealers are hitting it hard," Martinez said.

Automotive advertising, by both dealerships and manufacturers, continues to be the staple of the local media industry, said Mary Beth Garber, president of the Southern California Broadcasters Association, a radio trade group.

"The supermarkets are still not anywhere near where they would have been because of the strike," Garber said. "But at least on radio, I think the effects have been relatively minor."