Earnings drop for parent companies of Star, Post-Dispatch

The companies that own the two largest newspapers in Missouri, the Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, have not been immune to the problems that have beset the entire newspaper industry.

From a Reuters article:

Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co (owner of the Kansas City Star) reported a more than 40 percent drop in quarterly profit on Thursday as advertising revenue plunged, but shares shot up 5 percent after the company said it still will be able to pay its debt.

From an Associated Press article:

Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises Inc. (owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) said Thursday its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 87.4 percent, partly on one-time impairment charges.

The Davenport, Iowa-based company said net income was $2.8 million, or 6 cents per share, for the three months ended June 29, compared with $22.5 million, or 49 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Excluding the one-time charges -- which included goodwill and other charges based on the falling value of its assets, including an investment in Arizona-based newspaper chain TNI Partners -- earnings dropped 44.1 percent to $12.6 million, or 28 cents per share.