New York Times shares decline (inspite of Pulitzer for Bush Bashing!)
MarketWatch ^ | Apr 19, 2006 | David B. Wilkerson
MEDIA STOCKS New York Times shares decline
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of New York Times Co. were down Wednesday following the company's annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, where investors who held 28% of the stock withheld their votes for Class A board directors in protest of the company's performance, according to the Times. New York Times Co. (NYTNew York Times Company News , NYT ) was down 2% at $24.85.
Morgan Stanley Investment Research, which holds a 5.6% stake in New York Times Co., was among those who withheld votes. It said the company should do away with its dual-class shareholding structure, thereby forcing a greater degree of accountability on the part of its managers.
Tuesday's move by New York Times shareholders sent the shares higher briefly, as investors remembered what Knight Ridder Inc.'s (KRI ) two largest shareholders were recently able to accomplish. The company put itself on the block last November after its biggest institutional stockholders, Private Capital Management and Harris Associates, urged such a sale to boost the company's flagging stock price.
Last month, McClatchy Co. (MNIMcClatchy Newspapers, Inc. News , MNI ) agreed to acquire Knight Ridder for $6.5 billion. An elimination of the dual structure would have to be approved by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, which controls New York Times Co. Such a move would make a sale of the company easier, though the Times quotes a Morgan Stanley managing director as saying that was not his firm's intended goal.
New York Times Co. has seen its stock plunge by more than 50% since mid-2002. The company faces the same array of problems that challenge the entire newspaper industry. A spotty advertising market has been marked by ongoing weakness in classified automotive ads and in many national categories, including technology, movies, wireless and transportation.
A shift toward online news consumption has hurt circulation at many newspapers, particularly in larger U.S. cities. And the National Do Not Call Registry, implemented in 2003, has made it more difficult for newspapers to solicit new subscribers.
To protect profit margins that remain as high as 20% or more, newspaper publishers have moved aggressively to cut costs, which have often included the elimination of jobs. New York Times said in September it would cut 500 jobs, or 4% of its staff, including 250 positions at the New York Times Media Group and 160 at the New England Media Group. About 80 newsroom jobs were slashed.
New York Times Co., like many of its peers, has often seen weaker results in its largest markets, especially in New England, where it publishes the Boston Globe. In the first quarter, ad revenue at the New England Media Group fell 7.2% to $101.5 million, after declining 4% in the fourth quarter of 2005 and 3% in the third quarter.
The company is trying to introduce new products to revive its fortunes in the region, including niche publications, new Web sites and other initiatives. This month, the Boston Globe launched myBuyline.com, a site that offers books, DVDs, music and other merchandise linked to reviews written by Globe critics.
It has been more successful at the flagship New York Times Media Group, where ad revenue rose 2.1% in the first quarter, to $307.8 million. The newspaper's premium TimesSelect product, which charges consumers who don't receive home delivery a $49.95 fee for access to items written by its stable of op-ed columnists, appears to be working, and the company is also upbeat about new publications like a special real estate magazine in the paper's Sunday edition.
Other newspaper decliners Wednesday included McClatchy, Tribune Co. (TRBTribune Company,TRB ) , Gannett Co. (GCIGannett Co., Inc. GCI ) and Dow Jones & Co. (DJdow jones & co inc com News , DJ ) , the parent of MarketWatch, the publisher of this report.
Dow Jones reported first-quarter results Tuesday. See full story.
David B. Wilkerson is a reporter for MarketWatch in Chicago. |
