Continue reading Newspapers Claim to be Classified Leaders

Newspapers Claim to be Classified Leaders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Often, we confuse winning with being the best. This isn't always the case. There are plenty of ways to get ahead when you don't have the top product on the market. The smoke-filled backroom meetings may be a thing of the past, but the net effect lingers. This is exactly what went down, according to a Reuters report, when Microsoft (MSFT) had a chat with News Corp (NWS).

Microsoft suggested a relationship with News Corp which would involve the latter's yanking its news sites from Google (GOOG) ... for a fee, of course. This would cost the search engine giant -- which is also a news aggregation giant -- access to some hefty publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Sun and the New York Post.

Continue reading Microsoft and News Corp talk about pushing Google aside

Microsoft and News Corp talk about pushing Google aside originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We've put three quarters behind us in 2009, and the most recent one was merely another miserable step downward for the beleaguered newspaper industry. Total ad revenue plummeted in the third quarter to $6.4 billion for the print jockeys, a decline of 28%. This info from the Newspaper Association of America drives home the notion that conditions will only worsen for the newspaper industry. So, if you're hoping those shares of New York Times Company (NYT), Gannett (GCI) and Washington Post Company (WPO), holding your breath will leave you little more than dizzy.

Of the total advertising revenue generated in the third quarter of 2009, $5.8 million came from print, the lowest quarterly amount this year. The $623 million in online advertising sold by America's newspapers was also 2009's worst. Both are down substantially from the same quarter in 2008, when the newspapers posted print ad revenue of $8.2 million and online ad revenue of $750 million, according to NAA data. At this time last year, we lamented year-over-year declines approaching 20%. Now, we have the same feelings as ad revenue drops approach 30%.

Continue reading Newspaper ad revenue of 28%, 8 quarters of double-digit drops

Newspaper ad revenue of 28%, 8 quarters of double-digit drops originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It costs a fortune to cut fat. For regular people, it can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars on gym memberships, special meals and organic restaurants. Yet, this pales in comparison to how much the Boston Globe is spending to lose some dead weight. It could cost the NY Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) property more than $1.2 million to bid adieu to the publisher that almost ran it into the ground.

Steven Ainsley has announced that he's going to retire as publisher of the Globe after having been at the helm for three years. Though quite proud of the two Pulitzer Prizes the paper picked up under Ainsley, the announcement didn't include the fact that he almost caused the newspaper retire before him. As usual, the newspaper is all too eager to talk about its awards, without even acknowledging the fact that it's on the brink of disaster.

Continue reading Boston Globe's Ainsley $1.2 million departure package

Boston Globe's Ainsley $1.2 million departure package originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The folks in the news business are probably growing to hate Mondays. Gannett's (NYSE: GCI) profits are off by more than 50%, and the New York Times announced that it's chopping 100 jobs from the newsroom, along with an unspecified number elsewhere in the newspaper. Like Gannett, the New York Times cites declines in ad revenue as the reason for the decision. The company is hoping that employees will take voluntary buyouts where offered, but it is prepared to conduct a round of layoffs if necessary.

The newspaper, which is the flagship property of the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), cut 100 newsroom positions last year, mostly through voluntary buyouts, before a "relatively small" round of layoffs. This year's 100-job cut is approximately 8% of the newsroom, but the paper will still have the largest in the United States. Approximately 1,150 reporters and editors will remain. Already, 100 jobs have been slashed on the business side, leaving it now staffed at 1,850.

Continue reading New York Times to cut 100 newsroom positions

New York Times to cut 100 newsroom positions originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gannett (NYSE: GCI) lost more than half its third-quarter profits year-over-year, as the newspaper industry shows yet another sign of decline. A substantial drop in ad revenue was the primary reason for the plunge.

The newspaper giant was able to stay in the black because of aggressive cost cutting, a move that can work for only so long. For now, it's the most popular option available to the beleaguered industry, as evidenced by a New York Times (NYSE: NYT) announcement that it would slash another 100 positions from the newsroom, and more positions elsewhere.

Continue reading Gannett profit falls by more than half

Gannett profit falls by more than half originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After months of speculation and years of underperformance, the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) has decided not to sell the Boston Globe and related businesses. The company claims that the changes made at the Globe to slash expenses and right the ship financially have made it worth holding on to the newspaper. This comes after two parties submitted their final bids (similar financially) for the beleaguered 137-year-old property.

The NY Times Co. picked up the Globe in 1993 for $1.1 billion. Since then, it's watched the paper's revenue and circulation plummet, a situation worsened by the advent of the internet and the newspaper industry's generally slow response to it. Now, it's apparently worth just under 10% of NYT's original purchase price, with the offers pushed higher by both parties' willingness to assume $59 million in pension liabilities.

Continue reading NYT pulls Boston Globe off the block

NYT pulls Boston Globe off the block originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The clean technology wave just got a little bigger. This tends to be a side-effect of interest from billionaire investor George Soros. And, as usual, it's more than just money; it's more than just a return. Soros, yet again, is trying to save the world. Interestingly, the bold move was announced at a meeting on climate change sponsored by Project Syndicate - an international association consisting of 430 newspapers from 150 countries (and thus with clear ties to the past, rather than future).

The investor and founder of Soros Fund Management LLC is planning to put $1 billion into clean-tech opportunities using what he calls "rather stringent criteria," which involves being "profitable but should also actually make a contribution to solving the problem [i.e., of clean technology adoption and proliferation]." Soros didn't provide any other details on the nature or scope of his investments.

Continue reading Soros to put $1 billion into clean-tech companies

Soros to put $1 billion into clean-tech companies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The NY Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) has decided to double down on a failing strategy: Charge more for print. As circulation declines, the ailing newspaper company has decided to extract as much revenue as possible from its tangible product, despite the fact that the market is shrinking.

Starting Monday, the company's flagship newspaper will cost $2 an increase of a third from the previous newsstand price of $1.50.

Continue reading NY Times: When nobody buys newspapers, charge more

NY Times: When nobody buys newspapers, charge more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 May 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Drop in newspaper circulation continues: But not fast enough!

Drop in newspaper circulation continues: But not fast enough! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Most newspapers were just hanging on in 2008, but things got a lot worse in the first quarter of 2009.

The New York Times reports that some newspapers saw their ad revenue plunge 30% in the first three months of the year compared to the same quarter in the prior year. The decline in spending brought about by the recession is combining with the flight from print to devastate publishers.

According to the Times, industry analysts and executives "are expecting declines sharp enough to wipe out profit margins at many papers that, despite two years of battering, had stayed comfortably in the black, and to push already-weak publishers closer to bankruptcy, perhaps even closure."

Continue reading Newspaper ad revenue tanked in first quarter

Newspaper ad revenue tanked in first quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Rocky Mountain News closing just shy of 150-year anniversary

Rocky Mountain News closing just shy of 150-year anniversary originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading New York Times Deathwatch: Will the Gray Lady make it through the year?

New York Times Deathwatch: Will the Gray Lady make it through the year? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Newspapers gaining online readership

Newspapers gaining online readership originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New York Times moves display ad to front page to combat tanking revenue originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I guess I'm a bit old school, but I like the idea of walking to my mailbox to get my newspaper. I even like the feel of the ink that bleeds onto my fingers, but I recognize that I'm a bit unique.

Too unique, actually, and that is a problem for the newspaper business.

Yesterday, we learned that the old Tribune Company, privately owned by billionaire Sam Zell, is filing for protection under bankruptcy law. The company is drowning in a sea of debt and trying frantically to sell assets in order to raise cash.

It is obvious to management that subscriptions and advertising revenue will not be enough to pay off debt. The company will need to work with creditors on delaying principle and interest payments while it raises cash.

With the advent of the Internet and explosion of cable news networks, little old print media is going the way of the buggy whip.

Across the newspaper business, circulations have been falling for many moons and advertising dollars are taking their business elsewhere. Losses have been piling up, making it difficult to pay down debt used to consolidate the industry.

It's a complete mess.

Continue reading Tribune files for bankruptcy, could New York Times be next?

Tribune files for bankruptcy, could New York Times be next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gannett (NASDAQ: GCI) said it would cut almost 10% of its staff. This is hardly a surprise. Newspaper ad revenue has been running down over 15% this year and that trend is expected to continue. At some papers, classified ads -- mostly real estate, employment, and autos -- are off well above 30%. The internet has eroded readership. Most of these people will not ever return as newspaper subscribers. Gannett and all its peers trade at multi-year lows.

The advertising sales problem is beginning to spread to magazines. Between the internet and the recession, the magazine business is getting pinched and pinched hard. Ad pages at many business magazines and newsweeklies are down 15% to 20% this year. In some cases, the drop is closer to 30%. As a reaction, the largest magazine publisher in the U.S., Time, Inc., a unit of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) will cut as many as 600 people. According to The New York Times, "No magazines are scheduled to close, but some are likely to be severely cut back."

Magazines will have to do something that newspapers have not be able to. They need to move their content to the internet in a way that will pull large numbers of readers so that advertising volumes are big enough to make up for the erosion of print dollars. Since there are a huge number of content sites on the web, there is plenty of competition.

The print magazine business is dying and dying faster than many analysts thought it would. Its only life boat is the internet. A life boat only holds so many people.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

The magazine business follows newspapers into troubled waters originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Why Gannett's job cuts are particularly scary originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Tribune is not a public company anymore, but CEO Sam Zell says enough about his plans that it might as well be.

According to The New York Times, Zell "announced a set of deep cuts, saying that shrinking revenue left them no choice." One of the things that means is fewer pages devoted to news as newsprint use is reduced.

The Tribune carries a lot of debt, so it is in more trouble that other chains such as The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett (NYSE: GCI). But, other large paper operations including McClatchy NYSE: MNI) and Gatehouse (NYSE: GHS) also have massive debt burdens from money they borrowed to expand their empires.

What all of this means is that more reporters and editors will lose their jobs and the typical reader will get a newspaper that is thin as toilet paper. For newspaper company investors it means that stocks, some already down 50% to 70% in the last year, are going down even further.

The trouble also may spell the end of nearly a century of big papers like The New York Times being the news sources of record. The company recently cut 100 people, most of them from the news operation. Covering major national and international stories is becoming more difficult and at some point it may be impossible.

There is always CNN.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Cuts at The Tribune bode ill for The New York Times and Gannett originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It appears that News Corp (NYSE: NWS) will buy the largest newspaper on Long Island, Newsday, from The Tribune Co., increasing pressure on The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) in its home market. News Corp already owns The New York Post. Recent press reports indicate that News Corp is adding more political and international content to The Wall Street Journal to better compete with the Times.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the price for Newsday could be about $580 million, and final details of the purchase or lack of government approval could still kill the deal.

Tribune needs to make the sale to cover debt it took on in its LBO.

The news is especially bad for The New York Times Co. While the Post does not take much advertising from the Times, it does have a circulation of over 600,000 in New York City. Newsday has a daily circulation of about 400,000 in the well-to-do area of Long Island, just east of New York.

The New York Times is already in enough trouble. It posted a loss last quarter, and in March advertising revenue fell about 11%. The firm's stock trades at $20, but many observers believe that it it were not the target of investors who hope to break it up or sell it that the shares price would be much lower.

The value of the company just got undermined again.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

With purchase of Newsday, Murdoch has NYT surrounded originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.