MEDIA MARKET DATA - World Association of Newspapers

for mobile content, putting us in the vanguard of this exploding new platform." Print businessoperating income declined nine percent as double-digit growth in magazines and inserts wasoffset by the absence of TSL Education business, sold in October 2005. News Corp. is theumbrella company for an empire chaired by Murdoch that includes the Fox studios andtelevision operations, London-based satellite TV company BSkyB, newspapers including TheTimes of London, New York Post, The Australian and other publishing and media operations.Murdoch and his relatives control about 30 percent of News Corp. common shares. AFP; May10, 2006United States of AmericaThe New York Times Co. said that it expects lower profits in the first quarter and reporteduneven advertising results for February amid weakness at its New England media group,which includes The Boston Globe. The company, which also publishes the InternationalHerald Tribune and a group of regional newspapers, forecast net income of 22 cents to 24cents per share, which includes estimated costs for job cuts of 3 cents to 4 cents per share.Excluding the charges, analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 29cents per share. In same period a year ago, the company had net earnings of 76 cents pershare, which included a special gain of 46 cents per share from the sale of its currentheadquarters and another property. The company also said it was reviewing its joint-ventureinvestments and might have to take an impairment charge in the first quarter, which wouldfurther lower earnings. The Times said that advertising trends in February were uneven acrossits properties, with gains at its flagship paper and regional papers as well as its onlineproperties, but weaker trends in New England, where print advertising suffered fromconsolidation among its advertisers and "spotty" economic growth in the Boston area.Overall, advertising revenues across the Times company rose 3.7 percent in February, whiletotal company revenues rose 3.4 percent compared with the same month a year ago.Excluding About.com, which the Times acquired in March 2005, ad revenue edged up 0.6percent in February, and total company revenue increased 1.2 percent.http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060322/new_york_times_outlook.html; March 22, 2006United States of AmericaGannett, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, said its earnings fell 11 percent in the firstquarter as advertising revenue dropped at its newspapers, including the flagship USA Today,and expenses rose alongside high newsprint costs. Gannett, which also publishes about 90other daily newspapers and runs 21 television stations, said net profit for the first threemonths of the year fell to $235.3 million from $265.7 million a year earlier. "It's a toughmarket," said Tom Russo, partner at Gardner, Russo & Gardner, a fund manager based inPennsylvania. "Newspapers have to work hard to sustain their traditional share of advertisingbecause there are more alternatives today." Revenue rose 6.5 percent to $1.88 billion, Gannettsaid. The sales increase was mainly due to the consolidation of The Detroit Free Press, whichGannett acquired from Knight Ridder in August. But revenue growth was undercut by higherreported operating expenses, which increased 10.8 percent with the higher newsprint coststhat have taken a toll on much of the industry. Gannett is among the first of the major U.S.newspaper companies to report earnings, after a quarter in which the industry continued to behurt by advertising money moving to the Internet, declining circulation, and higher costs forenergy and newsprint. Gannett said that advertising revenue at its flagship USA Todaydeclined 4.2 percent in the first quarter. Paid advertising pages totaled 1,020 compared with1,101 in the comparable quarter of 2005.http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/04/12/business/gannett.php; April13, 20069