It's painful to see... and for those who have stock in newspaper companies, excruciating to deal with... the plummeting price. In the past year, McClatchy stock has fallen 85%!
McClatchy's money woes are attributed to the heavy concentration of newspapers in California and Florida - states that generate one third of the company's ad revenue and which are among the hardest hit by the housing market crash. By its own admission, ad revenue is down more than 22% this year at the California and Florida papers, compared to 16.5% for the whole company.
McClatchy's total revenue is down 15%. Its outlook is not very good. The is company dealing with more than $2 billion in debt left over from its 2006 takeover of the Knight Ridder, shrinking profits (from $44.3 million in 2007 to $18.2 this year) and massive layoffs.
Related: Jeff Taylor predicts the next buyouts will be at the McClatchy papers in the Carolinas.
3 comments:
The Bradenton Herald in Florida just got offered buyouts newsroom wide...layoffs planned if enough employees don't accept.
Thanks for the Bradenton tip, I'm trying to confirm.
The financial woes,buy outs and lay offs are only a symptom of the REAL problem. I've said it before and I say it again...Get rid of Pruitt!!! He already ruined the lives of several hundred at the various McClatchy papers. Nerves are on edge in the departments that haven't been hit (yet), and it is doom and gloom in the ones that have been offered buy outs. Modesto Bee newsroom looks like they have been visited by Dr. Kevorkian. Even though ad revenue is down, the (west coast) papers ARE still making money, just not enough to keep the stock holders happy. Looks like some of these once thriving papers will be reduced to news bureaus. I bet in 6 months the Modesto Bee property will be up for sale. Hey Gary...here's a song for you...Bye Bye Miss American Pie! (The day the music died.)
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