• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 10, 2009

The latest round of earnings results from radio broadcasters got off to a gloomy start Friday with Emmis Communications reporting that radio revenues fell 27% in the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 -- from $63.6 million to $46.2 million.

This contributed to an operating lose of $6 million, versus income of $13.9 million in the second quarter of 2008. Station operating income in particular plunged 67% to $8.1 million.

In his memo about the second-quarter results, Jeff Smulyan, the chairman and CEO of Emmis, was unable to offer employees much hope of a turnaround in the near term: "While I believe we have seen the bottom of this downturn, what no one can say is how long it will take to climb out of the trough."

Like other big media companies, Emmis has been offering to buy back outstanding debts at a discount, taking advantage of creditors' fears that the company may default. Smulyan said by focusing on debt reduction and reducing expenses, "Emmis is protecting itself from the financial failure that threatens so many others these days."

The radio industry in general is enduring one of the worst years in its history. In the first quarter, total ad revenues tumbled 24% to $3.4 billion, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau. The Emmis results suggest the medium was slammed yet again in the second quarter.