Richmond Daily Surrenders to Paywall; 'All Access' Comes to Times-Dispatch Tuesday

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Online readers of the Richmond Times-Dispatch beginning tomorrow will have limited free viewing as the BH Media Group-owned daily launches All Access, Poynter.org reports.

As with many paywalls, online Times-Dispatch readers will be asked to subscribe once they exceed 20 free articles over a 30-day period, though obits, wire stories, videos, section lead pages and classified ads will not be counted against the 20 freebies, according to Poynter.org.

Publisher Tom Silvestri laid the groundwork for a price hike in 2014. Warren Buffett's BH Media Group acquired the Times-Dispatch from Media General last year (see "TUOL" post 5/17/12), and the billionaire is a big booster of paywalls (not giving stuff away is how he became a billionaire, after all).

Buffetting the Newspaper Industry

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Maybe Warren Buffett was given a DVD of Citizen Kane for Christmas. Whatever the reason, the billionaire's appetite for acquiring newspapers at a time when the industry is distressed continues to grow.

The Guardian (Guardian.co.uk) reported that Buffett's BH Media Group has purchased the Tulsa World, Oklahoma's second largest daily, along with the city's most popular Web site, Tulsaworld.com, for an undisclosed sum from the Lorton family, which has owned the paper since 1917.

 BH Media Group's newspaper-buying frenzy includes the media conglomerate's purchase of 63 newspapers from Media General last year (see "TUOL" post 5/17/12) and its purchase the previous year of the Omaha World Herald (see "TUOL" post 11/30/11), the company's largest daily. Only the group-owned World Herald and the Richmond Times-Dispatch are larger than the Tulsa World's 95,000 daily circulation.

According to the Guardian story, BH Media Group's buying spree now has it owning newspapers, magazines and online publications in nine states.

Old Guard Newspaper Owner Sells Tampa Trib to Newspaper Novice Equity Co.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The pre-Thanksgiving sales season has begun early, as Los Angeles-based equity investor Revolution Capital Group ("RCG") has acquired the Tampa Tribune from Media General for $9.5 million in what some newspaper analysts are calling a "fire sale."

According to an article by Tribune rival Tampa Bay Times, RCG has established the Tampa Media Group to oversee the Trib, its Web site and affiliated newspapers, in what is RCG's first foray into the newspaper business. Software, manufacturing and telecommunications companies have been RCG's strong suit since its formation three years ago, according to the Times article.  Conversely, the sale, which is expected to yield $2 million net proceeds pre-expenses, signals media conglomerate Media General's severing ties with the newspaper industry after 150 years.

Tribune Publisher William Barker will retain that position under the new ownership. Richmond Newspapers acquired the Tribune in 1966 and subsequently became Media General three years later.

Buffetting the News

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett(Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)Richmond, Va.-based media conglomerate Media General, Inc. expects to close a deal on June 25 in which it will unload 63 newspapers to the BH Media Group, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., for a cool $142 million in cash.

In a company press release reported on Marketwatch.com, Media General said its dailies and weeklies in the southeastern U.S., except for its Florida holdings, along with Web sites and tablet and mobile apps, are part of the deal. The media outlets will be managed by World Media Enterprises, Inc., a sister company of the Omaha World Herald Co., which also is part of the BH Media Group newspaper stable.

Media General, which has concentrated on its digital and broadcast holdings in recent years, owns 18 network-affiliated television stations and their Web sites. A $400 million term loan and a $45 million revolving line of credit from Berkshire Hathaway to Media General was also finalized in a separate credit agreement, according to the press release.

Newsrooms Continued to Shrink in 2011

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)The largest U.S. newspaper publishers last year combined trimmed their work force more than 7 percent, according to a review of Securities & Exchange Commission filings by Media Daily News (www.mediapost.com).

A.H. Belo, owner of the Dallas Morning News and Providence Journal, among other papers, slashed its job force by 13.6 percent compared to 2010 figures, while its revenues declined 5.3 percent. Media General shrank its newsroom personnel by 9.7 percent, almost matching a 9.1 drop in revenues.

Likewise, the Washington Post Co. newspaper division cut its work force 4.5 percent and suffered a 5 percent decrease in revenues. The McClatchy Co., which owns 30 dailies, reduced its work force by 11.5 percent and experienced a 7.4 percent drop in advertising revenues.

The Gannett Co. axed 6.7 percent of the workers in its publishing division as publishing revenues declined 5.7 percent. E.W. Scripps grew its television holdings, but cut 6.7 percent of its newspaper employees.

The New York Times Co. was the winner among the losers, as it were, lopping off only 2 percent of its newsroom staff, in line with a modest 2.9 percent decrease in revenues. Rounding out the depressing Media Daily News article, Lee Enterprises endured a 6.5 percent drop in staff size, while operating revenues were down 3.1 percent.

Media General Troops Ordered to Take Furlough

Image via WikipediaRichmond-based media conglomerate Media General has ordered staffers to take a 15-day furlough before the end of the year, Mediabistro blog "TV Spy" reports.

Fresh off a $4.2 million loss in operating revenues for the First Quarter of 2011 (see "TUOL" post 4/21/11), Media General is hopeful the mandatory furloughs will enable the company to avoid staff layoffs and attain its cash flow goal, the "TV Spy" blog posted. Media General, whose largest footprint is in the southeastern U.S., owns 18 TV stations, 3 metropolitan dailies, 20 community newspapers and 200 specialty publications. Among its diverse holdings are Providence's WJAR-TV, WVTM-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, The Tampa Tribune and The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Media General Demoted by Poor Quarterly Earnings

Image via WikipediaDeclining advertising revenues among its print and advertising holdings are to blame for a $4.2 million operating loss in the First Quarter of 2011 by Richmond, Va.-based media conglomerate Media General, Inc.("MGI"), according to Editor & Publisher.

The disappointing numbers fare poorly compared to First Quarter earnings in 2010, during which MGI showed an $8.7 million operating profit.  Total 2011 1Q revenues were $148.9 million, a 6.2 percent drop from the corresponding period a year ago.

Although MGI's television stations and local media Web sites performed comparatively well, the company's numbers were dragged down by its print and advertising entities.  MGI experience a 7 percent decline in circulation revenues in the First Quarter of 2011.

The company, whose presence is strongest in the Southeast U.S., includes ownership of 3 metropolitan dailies and 20 community newspapers, 18 network-affiliated television outlets, and 200 specialty publications, including weekly newspapers and niche publications.