Gannett Earnings Decline by 22% (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303795304576453780616225592.html?ru=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs ^ | July 19, 2011 | Nathalie Tadena and Melodie Warner

[abb]

Gannett Co.'s second-quarter earnings fell 22% as advertising and circulation revenue continued sliding, though the company posted strong digital sales.

The media company saw its bottom line rise for most of last year, aided by cost cuts and revenue growth at its broadcast and digital operations. But the trend ended last quarter, as earnings fell on persistent declines in print advertising and circulation.

Advertising revenue fell 7% while circulation revenue dropped 2%. The broadcasting segment saw a 0.2% revenue increase while the digital business posted a 13% gain.

Overall, revenue declined 2.2% to $1.33 billion.

Gannett reported a profit of $151.5 million, or 62 cents a share, down from $195.5 million, or 81 cents a share, a year earlier. The most-recent quarter included charges related to facility consolidations, work-force restructuring and tax settlements. Excluding items, earnings dropped to 58 cents a share from 61 cents.

Operating margin narrowed to 18.1% from 20% as operating expenses grew slightly.

[abb]

Tuesday morning good news.

[SanFranDan]

Yes!!!

[abb]

ping

[ReformedBeckite]

Good News to start the day, may they go under before the next election.

[abb]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/business/media/profit-at-gannett-fell-in-quarter.html?ref=media
Gannett Newspaper Revenue Falls 6.5% in Weak Ad Climate

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-18/gannett-profit-declines-22-as-print-revenue-falls-dividend-is-doubled.html?cmpid=yhoo
Gannett Profit Declines 22% as Print Revenue Falls; Dividend Is Doubled

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23970360-publisher-future-hit-by-slump-in-us-print-titles.do
Publisher Future hit by slump in US print titles

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h0LHGk1g65Ey3lIIoftjmuejs1sA?docId=cccb67ef85d34c8e8d974f5d6de4f7f5
Tribune Co. reorganizes newspapers, cuts more jobs

http://newsafternewspapers.blogspot.com/2011/07/alden-global-capital-drops-shoe-is.html
Alden Global Capital drops a shoe: Is the Journal Register acquisition prelude to more consolidation?

http://recoveringjournalist.typepad.com/recovering_journalist/2011/07/american-newspapers-rise-and-fall.html
American Newspapers: Rise and Fall

[Doctor 2Brains]

A hundred freepers are about to assail you, pointing out that “They are soon to be unemployed Americans and this is a horrible thing.”

[Clay Moore]

[Calvin Locke]

The local rag is Gannett. I remember seeing one day. Church
bulletins had more pages A guy told me one morning, the
paper was so light, the delivery guy couldn't toss it onto the porches.

While I feel for the people, you can't for a company run by
propagandists. About 10 years ago, the city held a "public"
meeting that was only open to "women of color". A reporter
tried to get in, was refused, and he wrote a story about it
illegally excluding people from a public meeting based on
gender and race.

The "city" complained, Gannett complied, and fired the reporter.

The reporter got a nice settlement when he sued Gannett.

[ken5050]

Question for the group..

I've noticed that ABC's Rick Klein (whom I happen to like) seems to have become a near negualr on FOX. He's often on Greta's show, and he's been getting several stints on the Special Report panel..( and I'd take him over Maura Liasson any time)

He's probably gotten MORE on-air time ON FOX than on ABC. So, what does this mean? I assume ABC has to allow him to do this,as I assume he's getting paid by FOX. Is he moving to FOX? Does this mean any "developing relationship" between ABC and FOX to share reporters/news gathering as the political season heats up?

It's the last apir standing..MBC has its MSNBC tie-in..CBS and CNN and long been rumored to be dating, and there is a fair amount of sharing of stuff ( other than CNN correspondents who have a habit of leaving for FOX.

ABC is the last really unattached of the BIG three..and as they have NO cable news outlet..a link-up with FOX makes sense for both..

Thoughts?

[abb]

Possibly. Theoretically, every publicly traded company is for sale every day, from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

And they all have been sold/bought several times over the years. ABC started out as the NBC Blue network.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Network

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/would-disney-sell-abc-and-whod-buy-it-2010-04-21
Would Disney sell ABC? (Who’d buy it?)
Commentary: Or ABC News to partner with, say, Bloomberg?

[Buckeye McFrog]

An ABC-FOX hookup makes all kinds of business sense (plus they are in close physical proximity in New York).

But it will never happen for ideological reasons. I would not want to be a member of the ABC brass attending their first Cocktail Party after making this announcement.

Now if they can take Rupert Murdoch down with a phone hacking kerfluffle and force him to sell to ABC so they can turn FOX liberal....that scenario is certainly out there.

[PATRIOT1876]

Die die die dinosaur media!

No one wants your 1968 Hippie commune comments anymore.

[abb]

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/wsj-editorials-point-fingers-competition-133513
WSJ Editorials Point Fingers at the Competition

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110718/04055115139/newspapers-win-suit-against-google-get-their-wish-to-be-delisted-then-complain.shtml
Newspapers Win Suit Against Google, Get Their Wish To Be Delisted, Then Complain

http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jay-rosen-on-journalism-internet-age?page=full
Jay Rosen on Journalism in the Internet Age

[abb]

This Murdoch thing could really backfire on the State-Run Media. Suppose they made Ailes CEO of the whole company? After all, he knows how to make money.

[ken5050]

The LOndon hearing is wall to wall on all three cable nets..our debt crisis can’t compete

[Zakeet]

Tuesday morning good news.

Tuesday morning even better news ...

• Gannett is the largest newspaper company and the first to release its results ... it is considered representative of the industry.

• Omitting special items (i.e. bookkeeping adjustments), Gannett's earnings fell another 4 cents per share ... operating income dropped about 25 percent not 22 percent.

• Gannett will double its quarterly dividend to 8 cents per share - doubling its cash burn for this purpose from roughly $40 million to $80 million.

  Well managed companies try to conserve cash during hard times to rebuild, re-tool, redesign, recover, etc. Meanwhile, Gannett's earnings and revenue are both plunging while they are laying off employees. The only possible conclusion: this is a sign of desperate management trying to prop up their stock price ... probably to forestall takeover and/or liquidation. Unfortunately for them, unsustainable dividend boosts such as this will not have much of a long term effect.

• Gannett plans to buy back $100 million worth of shares. More important cash resources blown away. With a $3 billion market cap, stock prices down 14 percent already this year, this is nothing more than another desperate measure.

Bottom line: these clowns are terminal. It may take them another few years to finally give up the ghost, but like the NY Times, they will not survive in their present form with their present management for much longer.

[abb]

What you’re witnessing is a direct attack by government on freedom of speech. The unspoken message is if you write or say unkind things about the political class, you will be hauled in front of a government committee and grilled.

And that’s what the State-Run Media wants in the United States.

[ken5050]

Corporations generally have two main reasons for buying back shares:

1. Strategic, as in trying to keeps shares away from someone who mght attempt to take over the company. Hardly the case here..I mean, who would want to own Gannett now?

2. When companies are sitting on idle cash, they assess how best to employ it..expanding the business, making aquisitions, increasing the dividend are the main choices. The rationale generally given for a share repurchase it that the board sees NO BETTER opportunity out there. Anyone wanna run that one up the flagpole.

It could be an attempt to prop up the stock price, but it's like spitting in the ocean...ain't gonna do much good. They'd be far better off saving the $$ for severance packages..

[KeyLargo]

CHICAGO Tribune to Print the Sun-Times
Tuesday, Jul 19, 2011 | Updated 10:34 PM CDT

The relinquishing of print and distribution duties, however, means that Sun-Times Media will be forced to cut several hundred jobs, although some of the layoffs could be offset by the 100 or so jobs to be added by the Tribune.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/tribune-sun-times-printing-125863799.html#ixzz1Selv94Ts

[ConservativeMind]

Zakeet, I always enjoy your analysis. I don’t remember a time that you didn’t seem “spot-on.”