Another multibillion $$$ loss! Some hugs and sympathy for these people!

[eppur_se_muova]

News Corp. Loss Shows Trouble at Dow Jones

By TIM ARANGO
Published: February 5, 2009
It seems that even Rupert Murdoch isn’t immune to the downturn battering media companies.

The News Corporation, the media empire controlled by Mr. Murdoch, said Thursday that it lost $6.4 billion in its second quarter as profit fell sharply at its television and movie units. The company also took a large write-down of $8.4 billion, about $3 billion of which reflected a decline in the value of the company’s newspaper unit, which includes Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Many media analysts believed that News Corp. overpaid when it bought Dow Jones just over a year ago for about $5 billion, and the write-down indicates that it lost significant value.

The announcement followed a huge write-down at another conglomerate, Time Warner, last month and a sharp decline in earnings at the Walt Disney Company this week.
***
Reflecting a sharp downturn in advertising across the broadcast television industry, the company had its steepest drop in the television unit, where income fell to $18 million, from $245 million a year earlier. The company’s television stations had a 44 percent decline, “reflecting a significant overall weakening of the local advertising markets despite increased political advertising revenues,” the company said in a statement. The film division had income of $112 million compared with $403 million a year earlier.

One bright spot was cable networks, including Fox News. The division reported income of $428 million, up $91 million from the period a year earlier. Fox News increased its operating income by 32 percent.
***
more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/business/media/06news.html




Too bad about that last paragraph. Spoiled an otherwise good gloat.

[Confusious]

1. HarHar!

Wouldn't it be funny if murdock had to go crawling to Obama for a bailout? SHIT I WOULD PAY $100 to see that!.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

2. Great maybe they'll lay off a bunch of working stiffs as a result.

:sarcasm:

David

[Deja Q]

3. Well, when they figure it out that real profits go from the bottom upward...

Trickle down does not work.

The circle of deflation that seems to have formed will not work either.

Maybe within 4 years if nothing changes, but many expected lots of things over the last 9 years and the doom and gloom did not happen.

[SoCalDem]

4. Must be nice to "write down" your debts.. .and just go on

Too bad they don't just all go belly-up..