That Makes Nine Newspaper Bankruptcies
At the beginning of 2010, as the recovery is in clear evidence, two more newspaper companies join the banko list. MediaNews and Morris Publishing have both gone the pre-packaged bankruptcy route. That’s a recognition that the old business just is not coming back. And, if it’s not, newspapers with lots of debt — most due to paying too much for properties in the last five years — just can’t see a way to profitability unless they jettison substantial debt, and the annual debt service that goes with it. Yes, publishers, after cutting lots of staff and newsprint cost, can eke out an operating profit, but that eke doesn’t include principal and interest payments.