On The Record - Newspaper Industry News

Buyers Want Newspapers to Reinvent Model

Philip M. Stone

The bad news from Dean Singleton – “We are selling the Connecticut Post to Hearst and paying down a lot of debt.” The good news from Hearst CEO Frank Bennack, Jr’s response, “Newspapers will be viable as far as the eye can see.”

Singleton and Joseph Lodovic, Media News President, told employees in a company e-mail update, “Proceeds from the sale were used to repay almost 25% of our outstanding bank debt. Secondly, the transaction provides a unique opportunity to approach our bank lenders with a ‘win-win’ proposition. In exchange for the large repayment, our banks agreed to relax certain key aspects of our credit agreement to provide more room to navigate over the coming years. In sum, the sale, coupled with the changes to our credit agreement, provide us the runway we need to execute our strategic plans, position the Company to be opportunistic, and to continue to lead the industry into the future.”

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Community Papers — Sweet Spot of the Industry Announce 2nd Quarter Financial Results

Community newspapers remain the sweet spot of the industry with only a slight downturn in advertising revenues, according to second quarter 2008 financial data collected by the trade association

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The Newspaper Doomsayers Still Can Be Proved Wrong

One of the Problems Is Underinvestment in Digital Technology and Talent

By Jonah Bloom

Another prediction of the death of newspapers just hit my inbox. It was a link to a blog post from William Lobdell, who recently left the Los Angeles Times after 18 years in its service.

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Buyers Want Newspapers to Reinvent Model

This year seen as industry’s worst since Depression

-By Lucia Moses

Shrinking newsrooms. Falling operating margins. Double-digit declines in ad revenue. American newspapers today are awash in ink—but the ink is red. Soaring newsprint prices and stalled ad business have, in fact, led analysts to call this year the worst for newspapers since the Great Depression.

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Newspapers: Good News Online, Bad News Overall

by Erik Sass, Wednesday, Jul 30, 2008 8:01 AM ET

Newspapers' Web sites continue to grow--with the number of unique visitors increasing 12.2% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, according to the Newspaper Association of America, which pegged it at 66.4 million people. That's over 40% of all Internet users in the United States. The problem? Newspapers can't monetize their online traffic near the level necessary to offset ongoing print losses.

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With Fewer Readers, Big Newspapers Charge More

by Erik Sass, Monday, Jul 28, 2008 7:30 AM ET

As their print circulation falls, big metro dailies are charging more at the newsstand. They are hiking prices to offset the growing costs of production--including ink and paper--and distribution, where they are feeling the squeeze from high gas prices. This paradoxical strategy may shore up revenues for some companies, but it's a risky proposition.

Most recently, The New York Times announced last week that it will raise its newsstand price by 25 cents for the second time in as many years from $1.25 to $1.50...

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