Turning a profit in one painful step

According to an AP story, Gannett posted second-quarter earnings of $70.5 million and shares jumped 15 percent on the news. That compares to a loss of $2.29 billion a year ago. See, you too can make money in one easy step - just get rid of a huge chuck of your biggest asset - journalists. It reminds me of the time my former publisher told us in a meeting: "We had a pretty good quarter. It would have been a great quarter if not for payroll."

 

Is there more to this than payroll reductions? Did they sell something that I don't remember. That's a pretty big turnaround considering advertising hasn't improved.

 

Furloughs. Eliminating home delivery. Closing buildings and condensing them. Furloughs again. Consolidating copy desks. Stuff like that.

 

Fixed.

 

We got rid of coffee.

 

Just think how much they would have made by selling fruit for a quarter.

 

Keep in mind also that the best accountants can basically make the numbers say whatever you want them to say.

Hell, what am I saying? Even a modestly competent accountant can do that.

 

Is anyone surprised? Publications are still making money ... they're just ticked off that it's no longer 25-30 percent, and talented journalists are paying for the fact that people's thinking can't adjust.

(Back to my corner now ... )

 

I thought you meant selling kidneys on the black market.

Carry on...

 

Here's the kicker....next quarter, they'll see a decline in their profit margins. Why? Because they (hopefully) couldn't find a couple thousand more folks to fire.

 

They had an audiocast yesterday. Most of it was corporate spin and a mistaken belief that I care about Craig Dubow's back problems.