Media companies are still taking it on the chin financially as shown by the second quarter reports issued by publicly-owned companies. The most striking example came from Lee Enterprises, the Davenport, Iowa, owner of the Arizona Daily Star that last week reported its quarterly profit fell 87.4 percent to $2.8 million, from $22.5 million for the same three months a year ago.

A substantial amount of that drop was attributed to write-downs of the value of certain assets and goodwill during the quarter. That included devaluing its half-ownership of Tucson Newspapers Inc. to $76.3 million from $166.7 million in March. In its latest report, issued July 24, Lee said it wrote down the value of TNI by another $3 million.

Print this story Email this story Post a Comment Territorial Newspapers is finishing installation of its $365,000 Quad-Stack unit made by Web Press Corporation. The new stack provides for better color registration and does the work that was previously completed in two units. The $400,000 project is scheduled for completion Aug. 4 when the company will begin printing with the Quad-Stack. Territorial Newspapers and Inside Tucson Business are owned by Wick Communications.Joe Pangburn photo ADVERTISEMENT

Even without the write-downs, Lee said profits would have been down 44.1 percent to $12.6 million.

"Because we cannot foresee the length of the economic downturn, we are focusing on rigorous cost reductions through staff reorganizations, narrower page widths, newsprint conservation programs and other efficiencies, as well as reduced capital spending," Mary Junck, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "In our fiscal year that begins this fall, assuming no new surprises in newsprint prices, we are aiming for a further reduction in cash costs of 5 to 7 percent."

Lee said its overall revenues for the quarter were down 8.3 percent from a year ago to $256.4 million. And it wasn’t just print revenue. That was down 10.1 percent but the company said its online advertising revenue was also down, by 9.1 percent. A year ago the company reported its online ad revenue was up 61.2 percent to $16.2 million from $10 million for the same quarter in 2006.

Two other public media companies with Tucson properties have issued their quarterly reports.

• Gannett Co. Inc., owner of the Tucson Citizen and the nation’s largest publisher of daily newspapers, reported its second quarter profit was down 36.4 percent to $232.7 million from revenues that were down about 10 percent to $1.72 billion. It blamed much of the drop in profits on changes it made to its retirement program. But what may be most significant is Gannett said it’s determining just how much it will write off for the declining value of assets and goodwill. Gannett owns the other half of TNI. While it doesn’t separately delineate what it values TNI on its books, the company headquartered in McLean, Va., said it is looking at company-wide write-downs of between $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion.

• TV and radio station owner Journal Communications Inc. reported its quarterly profits were down 29.1 percent from a year ago to $9 million from revenues that were down 5 percent to $140.1 million. The Milwaukee-based company cited declining revenues from KGUN 9 as well as TV stations in Milwaukee, Las Vegas and Fort Myers, Fla., contributing to broadcast division operating profits that were down 14.1 percent compared to a year ago. Its radio revenues were down 5 percent but due to cuts in operating expenses, profits dropped less than half that, down 2.2 percent. Journal’s Tucson radio stations are Mix-FM KMXZ 94.9-FM, Mega Oldies KGMG 104.9-FM/106.3-FM, the Truth KQTH 104.1-FM and ESPN Radio The Fan KFFN 1490-AM.

KWBA sale closes

CW affiliate KWBA 58/cable 8 officially became a Journal Broadcast Group property July 22 when the $11.9 million sale from Cascade Broadcasting closed. The plan is to move KWBA in with the company’s other TV station, ABC affiliate KGUN 9 and its four radio stations. Journal has promised it will start a half-hour newscast on KWBA.

Focusing on science

On the cutting edge of technology, KUAT-TV 6 Tuesday (July 29) is launching a new quarterly program titled "WaveLengths" that will highlight what’s going on in Southern Arizona’s scientific community. It’s some pretty remarkable stuff.

Among the things the first half-hour episode looks at:

• Astronomer Marcia Reike’s work on an infrared camera for the James Webb Space Telescope, successor to the Hubble Space Telescope.

• Molecular biophysicist Roger Miesfeld and his team researching how to interfere with mosquitoes’ blood feed cycle might control the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria.

• University of Arizona researchers Myron Jacobson and Elaine L. Jacobson who are developing a drug to prevent skin cancer.

• Dr. John Galgiani whose work on Valley Fever may bring about a cure.

The first installment of "WaveLengths" airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday with guest-host Vicki Chandler, director of the UA’s Bio5 Institute.