I recently received my Presstime Magazine from NAA. In it, the Newspaper Association of America announced their new incoming Chairman would be Gary Pruitt. Gary is the CEO of The McClatchy Co. As reported on Yahoo finance,
“Its newspapers include The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, and The (Raleigh) News & Observer. As of December 31, 2007, the company owned 30 daily newspapers and approximately 50 non dailies located in 29 markets.”
A $100 stake in MNI purchased on April 23, 2005 would today be worth $12.40. This represents an 87.6% decline in shareholder value. Here is how other newspaper publishers have fared during that same time span:
- NYT -40.3%
- WPO -19.6%
- GCI -64.2%
- BLC -45.9%
- SSP -14.1%
- MEG -77.4%
- GHS -77.0%
- JRN -62.8%
In his bio, Mr. Pruitt has been CEO of MNI since 1996. From then until 2005 he increased shareholder value almost 600% But the times have changed. The paradigm has shifted. McClatchy needs a new LEADER, someone with a new skill set to lead and inspire in this new media landscape. For him to be the choice for NAA Chairman speaks volumes about how out of touch and lost that organization has become. I wanted so much for someone from forward thinking organizations such as Scripps or Washington Post to be the next chairperson. Oh boy. Where is the innovation? How is your organization adapting to the market expectations?
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