Posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 by Kevin Jackson
The Tribune Company, a newspaper publisher and broadcaster is considering filing for bankruptcy. The irony is that this company is owned by Sam Zell, a billionaire. Apparently being the good businessman that he is, Sam decided not to throw good money after bad and bailout his own media outlet. Congress? Hello? Is this thing on? According to this Bloomberg article, “The economic crisis is hurting newspaper publishers across the U.S. as advertising dries up and companies struggle to pay down debt with shrinking cash flow. To reduce costs, Tribune’s Los Angeles Times eliminated another 75 newsroom positions in October, or about 10 percent of the editorial staff. The company has also cut jobs at its other publications. The drop in Tribune’s newspaper ad sales accelerated to 19 percent in the three months through September, steeper than the 15 percent slides in the first and second quarters. Overall publishing revenue declined 13 percent to $653.6 million, while broadcast and entertainment fell 5.6 percent to $383.4 million. “The newspaper industry continues to see extraordinary declines in ad revenues, and Tribune is no exception,” Zell, 67, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a Nov. 10 statement when Tribune reported third-quarter results.” I call BS on Sam’s reasoning, and say that it is not the economic crisis that is hurting the industry. I think it’s a few other things, like Conservatives are the heartbeat of America, and we run the majority of businesses. Why would we advertise in liberal rags? Next, the fact is that these newspapers are no longer reporting news. They are so heavily biased, that to say you get news is really a stretch. When you lose your Conservative readership, you lose your paying audience. Liberals are the people who pick up the paper after a Conservative has finished reading it, and the people who order water for their “two drink minimum”. I must say that I am actually enjoying the demise of the media, given their atrocious behavior in helping elect our new Kenyan leader, and their treatment of Conservatives in general. And the fact that their demise is not limited to the Tribune, but also to other venerable liberal strongholds, like the NY Times just makes me giggle like a gigolo with a full workload. “Sexy Brilliance brings levity to the political discourse in this country. I put a comedic spin on what's happening in America, and showcases the ironies and hypocrisies of politics in America.”
By Andrew EdgecliffeJohnson in New York
Standard & Poor’s slashed its rating on the New York Times Company by three notches to junk yesterday after the publisher reported fresh impairment charges, a quarterly underlying loss and a review of its dividend policy.
The decline in print advertising revenues that has dogged US newspapers accelerated in the third quarter as the economy worsened, said Janet Robinson, chief executive. Visibility about future advertising bookings was “limited”, she added.
Considering the NYT’s recent downgrade to “junk” status, perhaps venerable was too strong a word to describe them? And to think that I called the NY Time “junk” because of editorial content, when in fact it really is junk! I can’t wait until next quarter to see the rating below “junk”.
So we have one major media outlet considering bankruptcy, and one exposed as “junk”, what could possibly be next? Since you asked…
Here it is. The Miami Herald, the #3 newspaper chain in the country can’t even find anyone who wants to take her to the prom. Apparently she’s picked up a few pounds, called debt?
“Citing people briefed on the company’s plans, the Times said the nation’s number-three newspaper chain, struggling with debt and a downturn in advertising, wants to sell the newspaper. Its sources were not aware of any serious offers.”
Don’t be surprised if the Liberal Triumvirate of Obama, Pelosi and Reid step in to bailout the media. After all it is Christmas, so why not put another gift the taxpayers don’t want under the Christmas tree.
But seriously, don’t be surprised when you hear the Fed giving serious consideration to socializing the media, and offering a bailout. What would happen if the Liberals didn’t have the bully pulpit from which to practice their tyranny?
That’s my rant!
© 2008 Kevin Jackson – The Black Sphere All Rights Reserved
Alexander Schmitt says:
December 8, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I live in Miami and can tell you few of us actually read the “paper”. In my opinion the news paper is a dying media conduit. The business has a high TCO and low margins. When you consider the paper, equipment, maintenance, delivery and slew of other associated costs. Forget it!