Since the end of 2004, the U.S. newspaper industry’s market value has fallen 42%—and most of that drop happened last year, according to a newspaper analyst, Silicon Valley Insider reported Jan. 2.
In the last three years, the market value of American newspapers has lost $23 billion, with almost half of that loss occurring in 2007 when shares decreased a collective $11 billion, or 26%, according to Reflections of Newsosaur analyst Alan D. Mutter.
The media companies that suffered the largest drops include Journal Register Co., whose shares went down 91% to $68.9 million by the end of 2007; Sun-Times Media Group, whose shares declined 86% to $176.7 million; and The McClatchy Company, one of the largest publicly traded media companies, whose shares fell 82% to $1.03 billion.
Two American publishers, however, bucked the trend and saw a rise in their value. The Washington Post Co. enjoyed a 4% increase in value in the last three years, thanks to its diversification out of the newspaper business and into the test preparation business. And Dow Jones saw its value surge 65% after being bought by News Corp. Though News Corp saw a 10% gain, it was not counted in the data because it only published one American newspaper before the acquisition.
In light of declining stocks, even the newspaper industry’s efforts to capitalize on new media sales have not lived up to its promise, Silicon Valley Insider reported. Meanwhile, the efforts of chief executives Rupert Murdoch, of News Corp., and Sam Zell, who recently financed the going-private transaction of the Tribune Company, also haven’t completely alleviated investors’ concerns about the eroding value of newspapers.
The primary source of this article is Silicon Valley Insider, New York, N.Y., on Jan. 2, 2008.
Nothing can beat that. Newsprint market is on a roll to deliver no so uplifting news.
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