There were an alarming number of big radio groups on the Moody's list, including Citadel, Cumulus, Emmis, Radio One, and Salem. This is not particularly shocking following a close call with near-bankruptcy by Sirius-XM, the satellite broadcaster, and repeated credit downgrades for other terrestrial broadcasters. In late February, Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit rating of CC Media Holdings, the company formed by private-equity firms to take Clear Channel Communications private, lowering its credit rating from a B to a B-. The decision was motivated by growing concern that the holding company might not be able to keep up with payments on nearly $18 billion in debt assumed in the deal to take the company private last year.

In the collapsing world of newspapers, Moody's identified MediaNews Group as a high-risk candidate for default, along with three smaller newspaper publishers: Freedom Communications, GateHouse Media, and Morris Publishing. Again, these potential deadbeats are in good company: the Tribune Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, unable to make scheduled payments on an enormous debt of about $11 billion. The Journal Register Co. technically defaulted on its debt of about $700 million last July, and was forced to declare bankruptcy in February when temporary agreements with lenders expired. Last June, Philadelphia Newspapers LLC--the owner of the Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer--defaulted on its debt of about $390 million, and was also forced to declare bankruptcy in February.

Also in February, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis asked a bankruptcy judge to dissolve its contract with the local printer's union, which ultimately falls under the umbrella of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. On a (relatively) positive note, Lee Enterprises said it had succeeded in renegotiating the loan covenants governing $306 million in debt, most of which was assumed during its purchase of Pulitzer Inc. in 2005.

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