Gannett shares stabilize after sell-off

But not before they traded at yet another new 10-year low: $36.90 a share in the middle of the afternoon. GCI eventually closed today at $37.73, up 24 cents from Monday's steep decline.

McClatchy losses echo GCI woes in Calif., Fla.

The struggling company, which owns the Miami Herald and 30 other dailies, said October revenue dropped 9.9%, partly because of declining real estate and automotive ad sales. "Particularly in the California and Florida newspapers, which have been affected by the downturn in real estate," McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt (left) said today. McClatchy's troubles in those two states mirror a similar trend reported by Gannett executives when they released third-quarter results last month.

[Photo: McClatchy]

GCI online ad growth still trails industry

Online ad revenue at newspapers climbed 21% in the third quarter from a year ago, to $773 million, the Newspaper Association of America trade group said today. Gannett's third-quarter growth, disclosed earlier, was a much smaller 11% at its U.S. newspapers. That's not good, when online is supposed to be a major engine of revenue growth to replace losses in print.

For the industry, the third-quarter average reported by the NAA was an improvement over the 19.3% gain in the second quarter, the Associated Press says here. But it trailed the 25.3% increase in overall online advertising during the same period, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Hot Off the Press: The Courier-Journal

This is today's Courier-Journal; click on the image for a bigger view. The newspaper was the jewel in the crown of the Bingham family's glittering media empire in Louisville, Ky. Then Gannett CEO Al Neuharth made an offer in 1986 that feuding family members couldn't refuse. It holds 10 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other Gannett newspaper. (It is 10, isn't it? This official page is missing the most recent: Nick Anderson's in 2005 for editorial cartooning.)

Update: A reader, citing this Wikipedia entry, says the Des Moines Register has won 15 Pulitzers. Now, that must be the most of any GCI paper, no?

When Corporate told publishers they were free to sell ads on the front page, the Courier went whole-hog. (Love that local autonomy!) The banner ad along the bottom rises up into the far-right news column; now that's advertising creep. The newspaper's website, like a growing number in Gannett, has even more jarring advertising.

Louisville employees: How's work under Publisher Denise Ivey? Please E-mail Gannett Blog; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the comments section, below.

The Courier-Journal at a glance:

• Publisher: Denise Ivey
• Executive Editor and Vice President/News: Bennie Ivory
• Founded: 1868
• Joined Gannett: 1986
• Employees: 1,100
• Circulation: 211,616 morning; 275,015 Sunday

[Image: Newseum]

Please tell co-workers about Gannett Blog

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Three reasons why Gannett is hot for video

Start with the fact that CEO Craig Dubow ran Gannett's television division before he landed GCI's top job. You think he doesn't have a soft spot for the medium that got him those big paychecks?

Gannett's rapidly growing appetite for video goes way beyond Dubow's resume. GCI sees more signs daily that advertising dollars and profits are converging on the newest, increasingly mobile "platforms.'' They're ideal for videos -- and the profitable commercials they attract:

• Facebook, MySpace and other social networks. News Corp.'s MySpace already streams video. So does Facebook, the latest Web 2.0 bottle rocket. How soon before those two companies make you watch a paid commercial to see videos like this?
• Cellphones and other mobile devices. Marketers are looking to wireless gadgets from iPhones (above) to BlackBerries as a place to advertise for new customers through commercials. Meanwhile, Google is rushing to stake a claim to the software used to power cellphones because it wants to be where future advertising goes.
• Video-sharing websites. They're everywhere because of the enormous success of YouTube. Major broadcasters are setting up their own video site, too, because they're seeing their own TV commercials migrate to the Web. And Google is here, too: The company paid $1.7 billion for YouTube in 2006 -- barely a year after that site got started. Now, YouTube is experimenting with running short TV commercials before its videos. Can you imagine how much more money Google will make off the millions of commercials that could someday be broadcast on YouTube?

E-mail suggested links, tips, snarky letters, etc.; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the comments section, below.

[Photo: Apple]

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GCI shares slammed by TV revenue warning

Gannett's stock plunged a whopping 5.2% today, closing at a new 10-year low -- $37.49 a share -- after the company warned fourth-quarter TV revenue would lag results from a year ago. The company's market cap (its ballpark value to a buyer) sank below the crucial $9 billion mark for the first time in years. Gannett's warning spread across the newspaper sector, dragging down shares of other publishers as well. It was a brutal day.

[Image: Google Finance]