The Demise of the L.A. Times
From Editor and Publisher:
Shares in Tribune Co. tumbled Thursday after the media company reported a 6.1% drop in revenue last month on declines in both its newspaper and television businesses.
Tribune, whose holdings include 26 television stations, 11 urban U.S. dailies and Spanish-language Hoy, said December revenue fell to $539 million from $574 million a year earlier.
The company's stock fell $1.01, or 3.2%, to $30.80 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Tribune shares sank 28% in 2005.
Revenue from the publishing unit, consisting of its newspapers, dipped 4.2% to $413 million from $431 million in December 2004. The company said about $6 million of that $18 million drop was due to the timing of Christmas on Sunday and the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in Florida.
Advertising revenue in the publishing division fell 4.5%to $333 million, down from $349 million. The decline included a 5.2% decrease in retail ad revenue and a 9.6% decline in national ad revenue, mainly at the Los Angeles Times.
Graphically from Yahoo Finance.
Michelle Malkin says all that needs to be said:
Memo to Tribune officers: shoving liberalism down your readers' throats is not a good business straetgy.
Will they learn? Doubtful. They'll go bankrupt first.
HT: M/M