Many of the large newspaper chain purchases over the last several years have involved tremendous borrowing and the banks are at the door with eviction notices. Even the big companies in the industry are having trouble. According to The Wall Street Journal, Gannett, Inc. (NYSE:GCI) the country's largest newspaper publisher, said Wednesday it had tapped its credit line as short-term financing markets stall.
Several other chains, particularly McClatchy (NYSE:MNI) and Gatehouse (NYSE:GHS) are having crippling debt problems.
A number of media sources reported yesterday that the The Star Tribune in Minneapolis has missed a payment on its debt.
Although it is hard to imagine, some of these companies may fail and fail soon. The costs of newsprint, trucks, gas, and personnel are so great that a number of newspapers may complete shut down. Customers may wake up one morning and find the front step empty. The poor newspaper boy has lost his job.
It is a hard time when there is nothing to put in the bird cage.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-02-2008 @ 1:15PM
TX CHL Instructor said...
Newspaper failure is not about hard times. It's about lack of relevance of newspapers. Business models come and go, and this one is going...
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www.chl-tx.com Without the 2nd Amendment, the rest of the document is just wishful thinking.
10-02-2008 @ 7:01PM
arthur lee davis said...
The Founding Fathers :
Flinch, but do not
Flounder..; ? ? ? , NOR FOLD !
10-08-2008 @ 4:41PM
iancook07 said...
True that newspapers in print are becoming irrelevent, but the news is still a growing business. News publishing is now digital (Google news makes money), so get off the dime, dump the print and start your own "creative destruction" of the newspaper, or be destroyed by creaping obsolesence.
The old saw reminds us that "if the railroads had known they were in the transportation business, they'd be flying planes today", which is the perfect correlary to newspapers. Just be News, and drop the Paper...face the fact that folded papers are not of interest to anyone under the age of 40!