McClatchy | Gannett Blog
McClatchy reports that its ad revenue was down 8.7 percent in October and 2.4 percent in November, helped by retail and national advertising. That compares to a drop of 10.1 percent from 2010 for the first nine months of the year. Gannett CEO Gracia Martore said November's ad revenue, including pre-prints, was "demonstrably better," according to Gannett Blog's Jim Hopkins. Gannett says its newspapers are profitable – except for the Detroit Free Press, which cut back home delivery to three days a week in 2009. Sunday circulation is up at newspapers in both chains, according to executives. || Related: Media General says revenue from local media websites will be 15 percent higher this year than last and that it intends to finalize its plans for staff cuts at the Tampa Tribune by the end of the year. | Three issues for media investors in 2012 (Marketwatch)

Sacramento Bee | McClatchy release
McClatchy says its third quarter earnings fell to $9.4 million, or 11 cents a share, vs. year-ago profits of $11.9 million or 14 cents a share. The results beat Wall Street analysts' consensus estimates of 7 cents a share. Revenues in the first nine months of 2011 were down 8.7 percent to $918.2 million compared to $1.0 billion in 2010, McClatchy reports in a press release. Ad revenues in the 2011 period were down 10.1 percent, and circulation revenues were down 4.1 percent. CEO Gary Pruitt says: "We saw some improvement in revenue trends late in the quarter: advertising revenue was down 10.4% in July, 10.8% in August and 8.7% in September." DIGITAL REPORT: "Our digital results include both digital sales bundled with print and digital advertising sold on a stand-alone basis. Our bundled sales have suffered with declines in print advertising causing total digital advertising to decline 0.4%, but we were pleased to see an increase of 9.2% in third quarter digital-only sales compared to the 2010 quarter.

Sacramento Bee
The newspaper chain said second-quarter profits fell to $4.9 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with year-ago profits of $7.3 million, or 9 cents a share. Ad revenue fell 9.4 percent from a year earlier. Total revenue, including circulation, was down 8.1 percent. "It is clear that the weak economic recovery is having an impact in the markets we serve," says CEO Gary Pruitt. || When will it end? "Feels like the 19th" inning, Pruitt tells analysts. || Reuters.com: The company made a penny more per share than analysts expected. || McClatchy's press release has details. > Dallas Morning News parent A.H. Belo reports $6.8M net loss in 2Q | Press release

Raleigh News & Observer
Beginning in August, staffers at a new production center in Charlotte will do copy editing and page design for the News & Observer and its community newspapers, as well as the Charlotte Observer and the Herald of Rock Hill, S.C. -- all McClatchy papers. "Employees who are not interested in the new roles that are available or who prefer not to relocate will be provided with a severance package that will include both a Severance Pay Allowance and company-subsidized COBRA, says N&O's publisher in a memo posted below. (more...)

The Raleigh News & Observer is cutting 20 employees, while the Miami Herald is letting 15 people go and eliminating about 35 vacant positions. The Kansas City Star says it's cutting about two dozen jobs and won't be filling some vacant positions.

McClatchy release
The owner of the Sacramento Bee, Kansas City Star and other papers says its revenues in the latest quarter were $303.7 million, down 9.5 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Advertising revenues were down 11 percent; circulation revenues were down 5 percent; and digital advertising revenues grew 2.2 percent. They were 20.1 percent of total advertising revenues compared to 17.5 percent of total advertising revenues in the first quarter of 2010.

McClatchy's CFO says in release:

We were pleased to be able to reduce debt by $20.6 million in the first quarter to $1.75 billion, despite large cash outlays for interest costs in the quarter. ... Our financial condition continues to be solid. Our leverage ratio as defined under our credit agreement was 4.71 times cash flow at the end of the quarter and our interest coverage ratio was 2.25 times cash flow. Both of these measures are well within the amounts required to be in compliance with our credit agreement.

> Rick Edmonds: Q1 reports show the new year brings a new earnings slump for newspapers

AdAge.com
The newspaper chain will still use Groupon and get 15% of revenue from its deals, reports Kunur Patel. McClatchy could collect as much as 50% from the deals it sells and distributes.

American Journalism Review
"Our papers are all across the country, in places like Boise and in states like California and Florida that have been just devastated by the economy," says Jim Asher, McClatchy's new Washington bureau chief. "Those folks and readers need someone paying attention to their interests and representing them in the world of journalism, and that's what we feel strongly about."