The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has laid off employees by the hundreds in recent years, decimating its newsroom and severely harming its product. The paper is owned by the McClatchy Co., which is struggling financially in this era of digital conversion and declining ad revenues.
McClatchy’s stock price fell below the $1 mark this week to about .85 cents, meaning the listing will be removed from the exchange in 30 days if the stock price doesn’t climb back above a buck.
So McClatchy announced it would invest $15 million to repurchase some of its stock through 2016. That quickly pushed the stock back up about 10 percent, although, as I publish this blog post, the price is still only .94 cents a share.
Will McClatchey lay off more employees and sell more assets to help cover its $15 million investment? Will it be able to push its stock price back above the dollar mark and remain listed on the esteemed exchange? The future will tell, but for now the company resembles a snake swallowing its own tail.
If the company can boost its stock price everything will look good on paper.
Except the paper.
When the tea-bagging, homophobic Star-Telegram finally goes under, I will carry a sign on the sidewalk saying “Good Riddance.” I determined to do that over a decade ago when they refused to run my wedding announcement. Hope it happens soon, as I am not getting any younger or spryer.
For it’s in giving that we recieve Roy. Give the REPUGnent rats a kick in the head if you see an opening. You know, they haven’t said they’re sorry up until today. Aren’t Repuglekins precious? The reason they haven’t said they are sorry is simply that they are not sorry. They are what they are, to the bone.