All of our various businesses are changing: radio, television and newspapers. The oldest medium is also the one hurting the worst: newspapers are in trouble.
Journal Communications, parent company of Journal Broadcast Group - which owns KRVB, KQXR, KJOT, KGEM, KCID, KIVI-TV and KSAW-TV had a tough quarter, with overall revenue dropping 5.6%. Overall income increased, but that was largely due to cost-control and layoffs.
TV revenues also slipped, down a whopping 9.3% (imagine if your boss decided to cut your pay by 10 percent…), though Boise operations were singled out as a bright spot. Radio group revenue fell 5.1%, but here again - Boise was named among the clusters doing OK.
News also came this week that the Spokesman-Review of Spokane will slash 30 jobs from its staff of 130 (SR has a Boise bureau). Also, Idaho Statesman-owner McClatchy fell off the revenue train as well, losing 10% of its quarterly cashflow. McClatchy’s stock chart for the past year is down down down.
My employer, Belo recently announced it would split the company in two - newspapers on one side, TV stations on the other.
on Oct 25th, 2007 at 1:11 am
How’s that decision to take the company public looking to you now, Journalistas?
on Oct 25th, 2007 at 5:11 am
if you want to sling something our way,”THE”, have the balls to use your real name.
by the way, Journal is a great group to work with. I’m glad to be here. not a kiss-up….fact.
on Oct 25th, 2007 at 9:09 am
This doesn’t really have ANYTHING to do with taking the company public…
on Oct 26th, 2007 at 1:09 am
You misunderstand me, Ken. For the record, I think Journal is definitely one of the better companies currently in broadcasting. God knows it’s better than Clear Channel. I wasn’t “attacking” the company, although I can see how it may have come off that way.
I do think the decision to take the company public was a wrong-headed idea on the part of the employees. They used to be owners of a company that was relatively immune from stock market ups and downs. That is no longer the case, unfortunately for them, I think.
As for me using a pseudonym, well, you’ll have to take my word that I have what I consider to be a good reason for it.
I get your point, Don. You’re correct that the decision to take the company public isn’t directly related to your story, but as I said, I think it has made the company more vulnerable to volatility.