NEW YORK -- Gannett Co. (owner of WKYC-TV) is reporting lower preliminary fourth-quarter earnings, and says it expects to take writedowns of as much as $5.9 billion to reflect the declining value of its newspapers.Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper publisher, says preliminary net income fell to $158 million, or 69 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, down 36 percent from a year ago, as advertising revenue continues to take a beating because of the
recession.
Severance and other expenses related to job cuts have further reduced profits.
The figures do not reflect the accounting writedowns, which Gannett expects to total $5.1 billion to $5.9 billion before taxes.
Excluding severance charges, earnings were 85 cents a share, slightly above the 81 cents a share expected by analysts.
Revenue fell 8.5 percent to $1.74 billion, below expectations of $1.79 billion.
Source: The Associated Press
