According to a transcript of the News Corp (NYSE:NWS) earnings call posted on Alley Insider, advertising revenue at The Wall Street Journal is down 20% so far this year. What does that say for The Boston Globe or The New York Times which are both owned by The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT)?
McClatchy (NYSE:MNI), the third largest newspaper chain in the US, announced a quarterly operating loss yesterday. That means it no longer has the money to pay interest on its debt. Either creditors will have to take a haircut or the company's papers will have to be sold. off.
It is now clear that no major newspaper in America is making a dime. Some reports say that The Globe loses $1 million a week.
Selling big newspaper may be impossible even if the price for some of them may just be $1. A new owner would have to be willing to shoulder huge operating losses and there may be no recovery in site.
The primary newspapers in some of the nation's largest cities may go away this year.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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