NY Times' earnings drop

The Associated Press reports on the latest earnings figures for The New York Times Co.

The New York Times Co. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter earnings fell 41 percent from the same period a year ago, weighed down by charges for staff reductions and an accounting change.

The Times, which also publishes The Boston Globe and the International Herald Tribune, earned $64.8 million or 45 cents per share in the three months ending in December, compared to $110.2 million or 75 cents per share a year ago.

The “staff reductions and an accounting change” explanations were highlighted by The Times Co.

But if you read further into the story, you learn there were also very significant advertising revenue drops in major areas of The Times' media empire.

The revenue drops deserved more attention than The AP gave them. They’re certainly getting attention on Wall Street, where The Times Co (sym. – NYT ) stock price has fallen more than 30% in the last year. See, for example, a Forbes.com article, "Gurus Dump Gray Lady, Buy Energy Spider".