More Woes for Newspaper Publishers in 4Q

NY Times, Scripps and Media General Post Weaker Advertising Results in Fourth Quarter

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Times Co. and two other newspaper companies reported weaker revenues for the fourth quarter Thursday as an economic slowdown continued to hammer classified advertising.

Media General Inc. and E.W. Scripps Co. also posted weaker results as lower political advertising revenues from broadcasting and a particularly bad economic slump in Florida hurt both companies.

The Times swung to a net profit of $53 million from a loss of $648 million a year earlier, when it recorded a big charge to write down more than half the value of The Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram & Gazette, which have been hit by regional economic weakness and the consolidation of key advertisers.

But the Times' revenue also fell 7.1 percent in the quarter, or 1.7 percent without the effect of an extra week falling in the year-ago period, missing analysts' expectations. After posting gains in October and November, revenue weakened in December, Chief Executive Janet Robinson said, mainly on poor results in classifieds as well as retail.

Excluding one-time charges in both periods, the Times' earnings came to 44 cents per share, down from 46 cents per share a year ago. But shares rose 9 cents to $16.74 Thursday.

Media General, a broadcast and newspaper company based in Richmond, Va., reported a 70 percent decline in profit due to a write-down, one less week in the period and less political revenue.

The company, which owns the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Tampa Tribune and Winston-Salem Journal, earned $9.6 million, or 43 cents per share, versus $31.6 million, or $1.33 per share, a year ago. Revenue fell 16 percent to $243.8 million, far below analysts' estimates of $261.3 million.

Media General's shares fell 45 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $19.12.

Both Media General and The New York Times are facing proxy fights with Harbinger Capital, an investment firm that wants to nominate directors to the boards of both companies.

Media General has called the action "unwarranted" but said it would pass along Harbinger's candidates to its board's nominating committee. The Times also said its board would consider Harbinger's proposed candidates.

Harbinger is Media General's second-largest shareholder, with 18.4 percent of the company's Class A shares. Harbinger, together with another investor called Firebrand Partners, have 4.9 percent of the Times' shares.

Scripps, which is in the process of splitting off its cable networks business, reported an 8 percent decline in profit on lower ad sales at its newspapers and television stations.

The preliminary results did not include an anticipated charge for writing down the value of its uSwitch Inc. subsidiary, an online shopping site. Scripps said it would disclose the amount of the charge by Feb. 29.

Scripps earned $123.3 million, or 75 cents a share, down from $133.9 million, or 81 cents. Total revenue edged down 0.6 percent to $679.2 million.

Newspaper revenue at the company fell 9.6 percent, while revenue from television stations fell 18 percent and cable network advertising sales rose 14 percent.

Cincinnati-based Scripps, which also owns the Food Network and HGTV cable channels, also said it expects first-quarter earnings to be 38 to 42 cents, compared with 39 cents in the year-ago period and below the analysts' estimate of 44 cents.

Scripps' shares fell 28 cents to $40.72.

Associated Press writers Michael Felberbaum in Richmond, Va., and Lisa Cornwell in Cincinnati contributed to this story.