New Britain (Conn.) Herald closing up shop

Just got a call from a friend who works there...Jan. 12, 2009 is the last day. Haven't seen anything yet on the wire...

 

Wow. What's the circulation?

 

12K.

Just got off the phone with my friend. Bristol Press is also going to be cut. Both are for sale, at this point, but if no buyer is found, then that's it for both. Middletown Press remains open.

 

I almost posted something on another thread this morning that it wasn't going to really be bad until papers started closing up shop and merging. Didn't think it would happen today.

It's a JRC paper with a circ. about 9,000 or so. Combines with the Bristol Press and Middletown Press for a Sunday, 20k, edition.

(edit: JRC's site says 9,000 circ, but could be wrong. Bristol's circ. is listed as 8,000)
http://www.journalregister.com/pub_ct.html

 

i've been talking with mrs. petty about the state of the industry and addressed just this very topic. i'll throw this out for discussion:

we have five dailies in a fairly small geographical region. in the not-so-distant future, i can see three of those papers folding and the other two expanding their boundaries a bit. those two basically would absorb extra circulation and ad revenue.

is this the only way this industry survives another 10-20 years?

 

Middletown and the other two papers combine for Sunday editions, IIRC.

 

I'm glad I got out of JRC when I did.

 

Not good news. The top dog in JRC is New Haven and I've been hearing similar rumors about that paper for a couple of weeks. Pretty solid sources, too. I've been waiting for another company to buy the Register for years.

 

I don't get the logic in this.

Even if you're only making 10 percent, you're still making 10 percent. Which is a lot more than you make if you're not in business.

 

Explain that to Sammy Zell.

 

They're not making 10 percent.

According to JRC's third-quarter SEC filing, JRC has lost well over $255 million this year. Before you laugh at JRC executives, remember that the company owns 22 dailies and over 300 non-dailies. That's a bunch of reporters, editors, pressmen and classified clerks who will be on the streets, many of whom will have fewer options than ever.

Given JRC's massive debt load, nonexistent stock value (closed at just over 1 cent per share today, up 2/10 of a cent), massive losses (reported a 22-cent-per-share quarterly loss Nov. 3), the shrinking market for newspaper companies and the overall economy, I kind of expected JRC to sideswipe the iceberg eventually.

 

The assumption of many who frequent this site that all newspapers are still making a healthy profit — just not the 30 percent profits that were seen in the past — is nuts.

Most papers are really hurting. They are laying people off and buying people out not in order to improve margins from 10 to 30 percent. They are doing it in an attempt to keep the doors open.