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Media General Trims Its Way to 2Q Profits

Newspaper publisher and TV station owner Media General says cost cutting helped deliver a profitable second quarter despite tumbling ad revenue. Like fellow publishers Gannett and McClatchy, Media General says layoffs, furloughs and other cutbacks helped prop up earnings even as revenue continued to suffer from both the economic downturn and the shift of advertisers to the Internet.

The publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Tampa Tribune and other papers earned $20.6 million, or 90 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $532.2 million, or $24.12 per share, a year ago, when the company took a hefty one-time charge. Quarterly revenue dropped 20%.

The company trimmed operating costs by 23%. The deepest cuts came in publishing. That division posted $12 million in profit, up from $6.8 million a year earlier despite a 26% drop in ad revenue. Expenses fell 24.8% excluding severance costs and other charges. Media General also raised $7.1 million after taxes by selling a TV station in Jacksonville, Fla.

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