Here’s a change we expect to see a lot more often: For the second time in a few days (see our story here), a newspaper has announced that it’s reducing the number of days it carries classified ads.

The News Herald in Port Clinton, Ohio, a Gannett newspaper announced this week that it would no longer carry “traditional print classified advertising sections” on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

“Our research shows that buying patterns cause classified readership to be heaviest on Thursdays through Saturdays. So we will provide beefed-up sections on those three days,” publisher Cindy George Bealer wrote.

In addition, the paper will focus on pets in its Thursday classified section.

“Although line ads for cars and other merchandise will appear in print (only on) Thursday through Saturday, larger display ads from all major categories will continue to appear any day of the week. Classified ads will continue to be accessible every day on PortClintonNewsHerald.com.”

This is a smart move. It’s a difficult one because you can’t charge advertisers for seven days if they’re only getting four. But since seven-day packages were generally pretty substantially discounted, the savings in newsprint costs should more than offset any revenue losses.

Ultimately, simply put, advertisers don’t care what days their ads run. They just want results. So moving the listings out of print – in particular if they’re beefed up online – makes sense. Especially since listing ads are more and more searched online, and less and less in print.

The Cincinnati Enquirer, which announced a similar cut last week, is also a Gannett newspaper. But we expect this to turn into a trend almost immediately. Keep in mind that the Chicago Tribune made a similar move last year when it cut its recruitment advertising to just two days a week in print, and radically redesigned its recruitment ad section.