In his Default-o-Matic, Silicon Valley consultant and blogger Alan Mutter predicts a newspaper company's risk of default using Moody's Investors ratings, "because not all publishers are in
equal danger of going down the drain," he says.
Looking at 10 of the largest publishers, he finds the shakiest are the Journal Register, parent of the Trentonian and other
small papers, and Morris Publishing, publisher of the Augusta Chronicle and other publications. MediaNews Group and Tribune Co. tie for third place.
The good news is The Washington Post Co., which gets most of its money from things other than newspaper publishing, has the strongest credit, followed by Scripps and Gannett, which has lots of newspapers but comparatively modest debt.
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