Since Rupert Murdoch and NewsCorp. purchased Dow Jones, the former owner of the Cape Cod Times, we have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. We all know they are trying to sell us, but given the sorry state of the economy, particularly in the credit markets, no potential buyer has been able to obtain financing.
These are bad times for the newspaper industry in general. Readership and revenue is down throughout the industry, and the future of print newspapers is bleak. More people are getting their news from sources other than newspapers. Actually, the fastest growing business owned by Murdoch is YouTube.
Our most likely buyer, Gatehouse Media, has seen it's stock take a beating recently. One publication put Gatehouse stock on it's "graveyard list". Ouch! They have $1.2 billion in long-term debt, and only $10 million in cash reserves. The headline on a Wall Street Journal website, ironically owned by Murdoch, was "The Train Wreck At Gatehouse Media". Another newspaper company, The Journal-Register, recently had a share of their stock valued at less than the price of a daily paper. The stock was removed from the New York Stock Exchange.
On the bright side, sales of the Cape Cod Times are only down 5% from last year. We are in a market with very little competition and we have a very active website and other online products. Because of our success compared to other newspapers, our selling price is too high for the few companies who might be able to buy us. So we just go along, taking care of business and enjoying our summer on Cape Cod.
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