Gannett, Mcclatchy, Media Gen. Swing to Profit on Cost Cuts Revenue Still off at Publishers, But No Write-Downs in Q4 Or Full Year

When your expense-cost cutting can outpace your decline in revenue, you too can have a profitable quarter and year, as proved with newspaper-company results that have been released in recent days. The big item missing on 2009 expense line-items that drove down 2008 results were "goodwill and other asset impairment" charges; both pure-play newspaper companies and multimedia companies with broadcast TV divisions had to take massive one-time charges in 2008 to make their balance sheets reflect the depressed values of their stock.