Posted on 07/23/2008 8:16:25 AM PDT by LdSentinal
The New York Times (NYT: 13.07, +0.21, +1.63%) fell as low as $12.38 this morning after its second quarter earnings missed estimates. Profits plunged 82% to $21 mn versus the $118 mn posted in the same period a year ago, a period that was helped along by the one-time sale of an asset.
The share plunge is the lowest since July 1995.
Print ads dollars at the Times continue to shrivel, sending operating income in a nosedive, as ad dollars continued their inexorable march toward the Internet. Hotels, automakers, airlines, all hurt by high energy prices, have pulled back sharply.
Meanwhile, in news on another front, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates, philanthropist and legendary co-founder of software giant Microsoft (MSFT: 26.53, +0.73, +2.82%) have announced they plan to hold a press conference at the TimesCenter, run by the New York Times, to make an announcement today. In the past, Gates through his foundation has given tens of millions of dollars to help fix New York City schools.
Now if only the Times was on the list of the philanthropist’s handouts, as ad dollars continue to plunge at the paper. The Times is hoping against hope that its mix of assets, including The Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune, About.com, regional newspapers and a classical music radio station in New York can pull it out of its corkscrew dive south. Stay tuned.
Looking for a govment bailout.
You got me all excited with the 82% drop alert. That is, unfortunately, not true.
Sorry, my mistake. I just kept reading from the 2nd paragraph down. Now, I am thrilled.
Forget McCain’s editorial. They ought to run another full-page Moveon.org Gen. Betray Us ad..
I posted an article from the NYT once. It featured pictures of young Afghan girls, some not even 12 yet, married to men in their 50s and 60s. Somebody went to the link and posted all the pictures, presumably so nobody would have to click on the NYT link. Somebody else chastised me for posting it at all. I responded that I never bought the paper. I can’t remember who it was, but I owe that person thanks for having explained to me that clicking on their link boosts their internet ad. revenues.
So about.com is a NYT company, huh?
Well, that’s the end of that. Goodbye bookmarks.
Maybe another Gen. Betray us ad. is coming down the pike. What do you think? Full page, again?
they said the profits were low as compared to last year for the same quarter. but last year’s quarter included the sale of an asset. apples and oranges, imho. not that i want them to succeed, but it’s a silly comparison.
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times Co. will increase the Monday-Saturday newsstand cost of its flagship paper by 25 cents to $1.50, the publisher said Wednesday.
Times Chief Executive Janet Robinson said the price increase for the New York Times will take effect Aug. 18. The company has already raised home delivery prices for the paper 4.5 percent in two separate hikes since last July. That helped overall circulation revenue rise 2.5 percent in the latest quarter.
Who would pay a $1.50 for a paper copy if you can read it for free on the Internet?
My guess is most paid subscribers who pay the monthly rate of $55 a month, are billing it to their company or the taxpayers.
The move comes a week after The Wall Street Journal said it would boost its newsstand price by 50 cents to $2 starting July 28 to reflect both new content and higher costs.
I'm sure the camel jockeys will step up with a bail out at any moment.
I couldn’t be happier.
It could not have happened to a nicer laydy.
While newspapers see a little increase in ad revenue in election years, it is mostly from local candidates and not National candidates.
The reason being, is twofold. One, they know that readership is down in a huge way, but more importantly, it has to do with top-of-mind awareness. TV and Radio can create much more repetition and name recall is extremely important to candidates when it comes time for voting by the hoi polloi.
For a while, they were requiring a fee from those who had an interest in their editorial pages. I used to read Tom Freidman and David Brooks. When they did that, I stopped. Then the buld went off about their ad revenues.
Every now and again, someone will post an excerpt that piques my curiosity. Now that MoDo has started to savage Obama, I am curious. I have (confession is good for the soul) read a couple of her columns about him. It’s a guilty pleasure. I won’t anymore once the election is over.
“buh-bye, Pinch Loafberger”
I am rooting for the NYT to go fully out of business before old Yankee Stadium is knocked down.
NY TIMES - all the Obama news fit to print, hell, we will even let him write op-eds for us!!
best thing about the NY Times? Maybe the sports section.
“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse” -God
Their classical music station is kind of snarky, but very much appreciated since NPR dropped the classics and a third classical station suddenly went over to rock some years ago.
Anyway, I’m glad I don’t make that commute any more.
What wonderful news! :-D
Maybe George Soros will bail them out!
Oooh, that's gonna leave a mark....
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