Thursday, July 23, 2009

Former McClatchy VP mocks newspaper analyst

Talk about a case of pot meeting kettle.

At his blog Etaoin Shrdlu, former McClatchy VP for News Howard Weaver mocked newspaper analyst Michael Simonton for saying last month that a McClatchy default was "imminent or inevitable." Weaver engaged in -- his words -- "a delightful dip in a pool of revenge and schadenfreude." Weaver boasted the latest Wall Street numbers suggest Simonton was "not just wrong, but stupid wrong."

McClatchy's stock price certainly rebounded in a big way since 2nd quarter earnings were announced.

But McClatchy isn't out of the woods. Far from it. (Ad revenues are dropping at 30% a year -- how many more quarters can the company survive at that clip, Howard??)

Howard has a track record of embarrassing predictions himself.

Just one example.

Go back to June, 2008. The same month McClatchy laid off 1,400 employees, the company announced it had added a new VP for advertising position. Some employees complained. Weaver responded with a prediction:

"Steve Bernard, the new VP/Advertising, is coming on board to increase revenues. He will pay for his salary by hundreds, perhaps thousands of times. You ought to be celebrating that announcement."

Let's take a look at Weaver's prediction that Stephen Bernard would increase ad revenues and "pay for his salary by hundreds, perhaps thousands of times."

From McClatchy's most recent Form 8-K, here are the key advertising numbers:

Quarter 2 2008 advertising revenues: $406.3 million
Quarter 2 2009 advertising revenues: $283.6 million

difference: - $122.7 million

So in the year since Bernard took the newly-created VP position, and Weaver predicted Bernard would pay for his salary "by hundreds, perhaps thousands of times", MNI's ad revenues haven't increased at all. In fact, they have dropped -- by a whopping $122.7 million.

Howard was wrong. You could even say stupid wrong.
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23 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would mock the Analysts too (I did), and I continue to mock those on here saying chapter 11.

Anonymous said...

Stupid is the right word for Weaver. One thing McClatchy did right the past couple of years was to get rid of this no-talent windbag. He needs to shut the hell up and move to Del Webb.

Anonymous said...

Can we just not mention Weaver's name anymore? He's not a player and a lot of us would just like to forget about past nightmares.

Anonymous said...

Now this is the type of information I like to see when I come to this blog, NICE JOB.................BTW I am sure we all know this but Steve Bernard is as useful as a screen door on a submarine. He believes print will make a strong comeback and that the internet is a fad.....idiot

Anonymous said...

Companies need great leadership to be successful. Looking at newsroom bosses and corporate heads at McClatchy, guess that explains the company's collapse.

Anonymous said...

Brovo 7:24, you made the first comment. Too bad the Gannett Blog‘s, first poster sport, bit the dust. However, we know who you are, and we will give you solace when your ‘MNI is healthy’ predictions turn to shit. That is how kind we are on this blog. Mock away, sticks and stones, don't you know?

Is this another “Sweetie” or the same one?

Anonymous said...

I told you that MNI would beat analyst expectations, and I told you that the stock would go up 40-50% on Tuesday.

I am telling you now (bookmark this post) that Q3 numbers will be in line with Q2 numbers (even with a YoY decline) and you can expect a $30m+ profit for Q3.

There is no inside information here...you can find all of this online from various sources...you just have to wade through the shit that people like you put out.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you 7:24. 7:57's comments are typical of this blog. When they have no facts they counter with name calling and hate mongering.

Anonymous said...

8:15 AM Shouldn't you be pumping your stock on a site that might provide you enough suckers to keep the price up?

You're not impressing anyone.

Anonymous said...

Weighing quarterly results as the master mark of progress is why shortsighted MNI is in dire straits.

The problems the company faces today, were ignored for years, but the narcotic of the quarterly numbers kept the Honchos numb and dumb.

Sling a little dope, and all is well for the future of MNI.

No recovery in 2010, and 2011 isn't going to rocket up..California is going to be dragging for years.

lots of quarters or the medications to numb out.

Anonymous said...

Did I pump the stock? Did I say that it will be at $x in y time? Did I say buy now before a "rocket" ride?

NO, I never mentioned stock...I am talking about the HEALTH of the company.

You guys on the other hand are ALWAYS talking about stock. I.e. dump it now before it tanks, here comes chapter 11 and no share value, shorts are pumping this stock, etc.

Look, I am sorry that you appear to have bought stock in a company in a dying industry and that you probably paid north of $10 a share.

In a recession EVERYTHING is bad (except for Wal-Mart, cheap food, and alcohol). Every business, every industry all have the same YoY comp declines. That is the thing that you guys cannot understand.

You have to find a bottom to gauge how a company is doing. If you look at a YoY rate to find a bottom (i.e. when the rate increases) you are a year behind on the bottom as your revenues started increasing a year ago.

Just wait 15 months and you will see the YoY rates will have increased, yet the bottom will be evident that it is Q3 2009.

Anonymous said...

I don't care how you slice the stats and predicitions, McClatchy is in big trouble and struggling to keep afloat. If you hate the company or love it, you have to know this to be a fact.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 9:54: Truer words were never written. That cuts through the rhetoric and flame wars on this site.

Anonymous said...

9:11 AM- Dream on buddy, the writing is on the wall for print newspapers. You better hope the online MNI does well, or you will be SOL all the way around. The online version will not need all the slackers McClatchy has now, you do know that, right? Did you notice they are seeking techies that will work for food, and not the journalists they are firing right and left. CA and FL will drag MNI down unless they unload the Bees and the Herald. Biased news sources, meet bankruptcy, it’s going to happen. The current Pruitt blunderbuss is for amateurs, and the cult folks that believed Obama's phony Hopey-Changy teleprompter speeches. Good grief, I can’t even bring myself to feel sorry for you any longer.

Anonymous said...

I don't care how you slice the stats and predicitions, McClatchy is in big trouble and struggling to keep afloat. If you hate the company or love it, you have to know this to be a fact.

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Whether you hate it or love it...if it is fact, please point us to it? I have provided research showing the contrary, you making a "factual" statement should have the facts to back it up.

Patiently waiting.

Anonymous said...

Liberal whackjob says, “When they have no facts they counter with name calling and hate mongering.”

Do you always have to use the same old tired lines? Trolls come on this blog to get in the talking points they have been taught. You don’t have to come here at all. You will never convince anyone here that the Lame Stream Media is unbiased, or undeserving of their current fate. You come here to stir the pot, so to speak.
“Name calling”, think of the liberal’s treatment of President Bush for eight years, “hate mongering”, think of the media's treatment of Gov. Palin’s children.” You say the same lame things over and over, no wonder no one wants to read your tripe. Not in newspapers, not here.

Anonymous said...

This topic has nothing to do with the crap that McClatchy puts out. This topic is trying to deal with the "health" of a company.

Anonymous said...

Howard Weaver is a self-made blowhard. I would like to never, ever see his name again, but he has involved himself in shock blogging to bring up his dismal blog hits. Melanie Sill was his main defender when he used the “F” bomb. He has the nerve to call anyone else stupid wrong, look what has happened to the company where he was VP. He has to share in the blame for this total collapse. I do remember he cashed out his MNI stocks a long time ago. No doubt he has a golden parachute, while the little folks get peanuts, or nothing but a kick to the curb. He is the one that is stupid wrong for everything he has done, arrogant, and stupid wrong.

Anonymous said...

7:36 I couldn't agree more. You can also include the Advertising heads lack of leadership in this train wreck of a newspaper company.

Anonymous said...

McClatchy was far into their collapse before this complete business downturn. When Pruitt bought Knight Ridder and took on too much debt for a dying industry, he sealed the fate for most of the journalists and other employees on both papers. As noted before, Pruitt, Weaver, and a couple of BOD members, had so much confidence in their company, they cashed in stocks the very same day, 9/2/07. You see, they didn’t want anything but their yearly salaries and bonuses, in Tony Ridder’s case, little as possible. Such confidence in their company, in 2007? Anyone having a light bulb moment yet?

Anonymous said...

Nice to see the Goebells guy is expanding his vocabulary and talking points with "sweetie". You come up with that all by yourself genius? Guess it's better then spouting off about Marxist and Hitler and bias and blah, blah, blah... You must really have no life whatsoever based on the amount of post you post to. I notice you often post one after another and even respond to yourself. I'm sure that Kevin is thrilled to have you on his team.

Anonymous said...

Weaver left on his own accord, unlike this blogger who was kicked to the curb. He couldn't even provide a true GFE.

Kevin Gregory said...

7:23 -- I'm guessing you are the guy who has made dozens (hundreds?) of anonymous posts saying I was "kicked to the curb" or "fired" by McClatchy.

For the 100th time -- I have never been employed by McClatchy.