US media in deep financial crisis (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Times of India ^ | December 9, 2008 | Staff

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NEW YORK: Faced with declining advertising revenue and mounting debt, the US media has plunged into a deep financial crisis.

The publisher of the two most popular dailies, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, has filed for bankruptcy. The New York Times is seeking a $225 million loan against its headquarter in mid-town Manhattan. The popular Miami Herald has been put on sale by its owner. And stocks of CBS, one of the popular new channels, have fallen below $5 in recent weeks.

Most American media outlets are now struggling to survive. They have gone into massive cost cutting, resulting in hundreds of journalists and non-journalists in the mainstream media losing their jobs in recent months.

In the latest sign of crisis that has hit the once flourishing US media, The Tribune Company - which owns as many as 23 television stations and 12 newspapers including its flagship Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune on Monday announced that it has filed for bankruptcy. The company is said to have nearly $13 billion in debt compared to $7.6 billion in assets.

"Unfortunately, factors beyond our control have created a perfect storm -- a precipitous decline in revenue and a tough economy coupled with a credit crisis that makes it extremely difficult to support our debt," Tribune CEO Sam Zell said in a statement on Monday.

David Carr, popular media columnist for The New York Times, said: "Media companies have been hammered on the leading edge of the recession because they run on advertising, a discretionary expenditure that always is among the first things to go."

The New York Times Company, which runs one of the most popular American newspapers by the same name, on Monday said it will borrow as much as $225 million against its skyscraper property in mid-town Manhattan, which happens to be its headquarter.

This has become essential to prevent a possible cash flow jam. It is facing a debt repayment of $400 million. Notably, stocks of The New York Times have dropped 55 percent this year.

So have stocks of several other media outlets. Besides CBS news channel, News Corp stocks have recently been trading below $6 and those of Time Warner have dropped under $8.

Only a few days ago, The McClatchy Company, America's third largest newspaper chain running more than 30 newspapers, had put its popular The Miami Herald newspaper on sale. The Miami Herald with a circulation of 210,000 has won as many as 19 Pulitzer Prizes.

Latest statistics released by Newspaper Association of America has disclosed that newspaper advertisement revenue in the third quarter of this year dropped by $2 billion; a record 18.1 percent decline. The online ad revenue too declined for the second quarter in a row, it said.

The USA Today had announced a cut in jobs in its newsroom a fortnight ago. So did The Chicago Tribune last week. Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, has announced that it will cut 10 percent of its workforce at the more than 80 newspapers run by it.

The 17-member Cox Newspapers chain has announced it is closing down its Washington bureau and would depend on news agencies now. Independently-run Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has lost 20 percent of its staff in the past 18 months. A majority of the US media has already shut down its foreign bureaus or cut costs drastically.

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FReepers, this is the noise dying dinosaurs make. Many stories today in the NY Times, WSJ, etc about the Tribune bankruptcy and the NBC shuffle.

Enjoy...

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ping

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/media/09sorkin.html?ref=business
Workers Pay for Debacle at Tribune

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/media/09tribune.html?ref=business
Tribune Company Seeks Bankruptcy Protection

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/zell-on-newspapers-in-his-own-words/
Zell on Tribune, in His Own Words

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/sports/baseball/09sandomir.html
Free From Tribune’s Bankruptcy Filing, Cubs Proceed as Usual

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/media/09adco.html?ref=business
Next Year Is Looking Even Worse

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

If ever a pack of liars deserve a fate, this is it.

The newspapers of this country are a disgrace.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/media/09nbc.html?ref=business
NBC Names 2 Executives to Help Slim Its Operations

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/media/09leno.html?ref=business
Where Is Leno Going? To Prime Time, on NBC

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122879026101290543.html?mod=article-outset-box
NBC to Join TV Studio and Network

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122879000755890537.html
Publisher To Borrow $225 Million

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122877038241988999.html?mod=article-outset-box
Media Industry’s Trials and Tribune-ations

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122876270495988567.html
Tribune Co. Files for Chapter 11 Protection

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

All of these Christmas presents coming from the Media! Anyone who wants more than this is just greedy.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I wonder how much food you can buy at the supermarket with a Pullitzer Prize?

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue-tribune-esopdec09,0,1307530.story
Zell could recoup investment, but employees likely won’t

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-tribune9-2008dec09,0,5865086.story
Tribune Co. files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-nbc9-2008dec09,0,7651774.story
NBC may cut hours of TV programming

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-tue-greising-tribune-bankrupdec09,0,4574131.column
Tribune Co.’s crisis has been years in making

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120802200.html?hpid=sec-business
Debt-Saddled Tribune Co. Files for Bankruptcy Protection

[sirchtruth]

The publisher of the two most popular dailies, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, has filed for bankruptcy.

They deserve everything which happens to them because of their terribly bad judgement. May there be no rest, only torment, the same torment which they thrust upon a public for their lying, deceptive, unfair, republican, conservative hating bias!

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http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2008/db2008128_376528.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis
Tribune Bankruptcy Snares Employees

[Man50D]

"Unfortunately, factors beyond our control have created a perfect storm

LOL!!! The Socialist media has been trying to control the people with its biased reporting.

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http://recoveringjournalist.typepad.com/recovering_journalist/
Tribune’s Victims

http://newsafternewspapers.blogspot.com/
How to monetize “air”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6620876.html
Viacom CEO Downplays Recent Job Cuts

[kb2614]

Motorhead said it best “Now I’m the one Dancing On Your Grave”.

[count-your-change]

Just a small amount of hemlock tea.

[caver]

These big newspapers would rather get Obama elected than save their own hide. How shortsighted is that?

[caver]

These big newspapers would rather get Obama elected than save their own hide. How shortsighted is that?

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Newsies have always told us their vocation is a “calling.” Well, now they get to do it for free, like everyone else who says they do the Lord’s Work.

[caver]

I like that idea. The libs get to work for free!