Taking a quick look around the industry at those newspaper companies to have reported their February revenues might require a healthy dose of Tums for the execs. Here's what you'll find:
The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) today reported that consolidated advertising revenues in February 2007 decreased 5.2% and total revenues were down 5.1% compared to pro forma revenues (including the addition of newspapers purchased in the Knight Ridder acquisition and excluding the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper). Year-to-date advertising revenues declined 5.5% and total revenues were down 5.2% on a pro forma basis.
The New York Times Company announced today that in February 2007 advertising revenues from continuing operations decreased 6.0% and total Company revenues from continuing operations decreased 3.6% compared with February 2006.
Advertising revenue at The Wall Street Journal decreased 10.0% in February on a 6.6% decrease in advertising volume, due to declines in the technology, financial, general and classified advertising categories.
Gannett Co., Inc. reported today that total pro forma operating revenues for the second period declined 4.5 percent, compared with the second period in 2006.
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated reported today that same property(1) advertising revenue in February decreased 1.6 percent compared with a year ago, and total same property revenue decreased 0.8 percent. Same property online advertising revenue increased 51.5 percent.
Consolidated revenues for the period were $385 million, down 3.4 percent from last year’s $398 million.
Publishing Division total revenues declined 4.2 percent; Broadcast Division total revenues increased 27.4 percent, including the new stations, and same-station revenues decreased 2.7 percent; and Interactive Media Division total revenues rose 28.6 percent.
As expected, online revenues are the shining star but haven't been able to outpace losses from the newspaper side. This can't continue if newspapers expect to stay viable companies.
There is a solution. Cut expenses on the newspaper side. Usually that means cutting people and news hole, which is a sure fire way to lose readers. The better solution is to cut waste.
This industry spends millions of dollars at each paper in the country delivering unread sections of the newspaper. Stop sending them. It's that simple. Only send those sections of the newspaper that people request. The result is gigantic savings. It's called "zoning by interest" and I've started to outline how to do it here.
On a more grim note, I've also outlined the cost of not listening to me.
