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Newspapers have turned in an even worse performance this year than Fitch Ratings analysts had predicted at the beginning of 2007.
In its latest broad survey of the industry, Fitch Ratings said that publicly traded newspaper companies, in particular, are a cause for concern, writes Adweek. On the other hand, the report noted, the steep downturn could halt such highly leveraged transactions as Sam Zell’s takeover of Tribune Co. that could be risky for shareholders.
Gannett Co. saw ad pages decline 17 percent compared to last year, with real estate classifieds plummeting 20 percent.
Tribune Co.’s help-wanted classifieds plunged 19 percent, with real estate shrinking by 24 percent.
McClatchy saw real estate collapse by 26 percent, with auto diving 20 percent.
Dow Jones & Co.’s ad volume slipped 20 percent with a 75 percent drop in technology related ads.
Huge declines in the real estate market were mainly localized in newspapers serving markets such as Florida and California, places where the housing bubble was biggest and so burst most dramatically. However, continued declines in retail, auto and help-wanted during a time when key economic indicators for the U.S. economy have been broadly healthy led Fitch to conclude that much, if not all, of the declines could be permanent.
Katz Media Group has added another new client, Lincoln Financial Media, and will sell ad time on the company’s 15 stations beginning immediately.
Katz also added CBS Radio and Entercom last week, picking them off from Interep’s list.
Katz has also…
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