McClatchy 'McClobbered' By 1Q Earnings Results

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Sacramento, Calif.-based media conglomerate, The McClatchy Company, suffered a 5.1 percent drop in advertising revenues for the First Quarter of 2012, compared to First Quarter 2011 figures, the McClatchy-owned Sacramento Bee reports.

McClatchy, whose holdings include The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Charlotte Observer, The Anchorage Daily News and The Miami Herald, lost $2.1 million in the First Quarter. A year ago, McClatchy lost $2 million during the same period, so the company is nothing if not consistent.

Advertising sales plunged 6.8 percent in the First Quarter, worse than the 5.7 percent drop experienced in the Fourth Quarter of 2011. A ray of hope in the grim results was a 2.7 percent increase in digital ad sales, the hope of the newspaper industry.

McClatchy's CEO Gary Pruitt next month will bring his non-Midas touch to the Associated Press where he will take the helm as CEO.