Finding articles that delineate the effects of the current global financial crisis on daily newspapers are tough to find. I did, however, find an article that shows concrete examples of the how the current economic conditions have caused difficulties for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Star Tribune has not paid it quarterly payment of 9 million dollars on its debt of 432 million, and had already missed a payment on a smaller debt of 96 million.
See the article at this link: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/09/29/daily18.html?surround=lfn&brthrs=1
Avista, parent company of the Star Tribune, clearly did not have the cash on hand to make the debt payments. Also, due to a tight credit market, they were probably unable to acquire a short term loan to cover the payments when they were due. This kind of situation is untenable for any business. It can result in operations cutbacks, layoffs, bankruptcy, lack of investment into the operation, and eventually, closing down. These are not only potential issues, they have already begun for many newspapers, and are being accelerated by the global financial crisis.
1 comment:
What's surprising to me is the lack of attention about this fairly serious development. It seems to have been buried by the larger economic crisis. Interesting timing on the Strib's part maybe...
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