GANNETT REPORTS REV DECLINE

The corporate parent of the News-Leader issued its second-quarter earnings report on Wednesday and blamed "softness" in the British ad market for some of the 8.3 percent decline in earnings. The Associated Press has it this way:

Gannett, which publishes 90 daily newspapers including USA Today, the largest-selling daily, earned $310.5 million in the 13 weeks ending June 25, down from $338.6 million in the comparable period a year ago.

The company earned $1.31 per share, in line with the estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Financial and below the $1.37 reported a year ago.

Revenue climbed 6.1 percent to $2.03 billion from $1.91 billion a year ago, as the company consolidated results from newspaper operations in Detroit. Assuming Gannett owned the same properties in both periods, revenue would have increased 0.5 percent.

Last year the company bought the Detroit Free Press from Knight Ridder Inc. and combined it into a partnership with The Detroit News, which MediaNews Group Inc. bought from Gannett.

At USA Today, advertising revenue rose 0.7 percent in the quarter while paid advertising pages declined 7 percent to 1,107 from 1,191.

Reported newspaper advertising revenue rose 6.4 percent in the quarter, or 0.3 percent had the company owned the same properties in both periods. Same-property advertising revenue in the United States rose 2.2 percent.

Newspaper operating expenses rose 9.8 percent in the quarter on the inclusion of Detroit, or 1.3 percent on a same-property basis. Newsprint expenses, including the addition of Detroit, rose 12.2 percent, reflecting higher newsprint prices and usage. On a same-property basis, newsprint expenses rose 5.2 percent.

In a statement, Gannett CEO Craig Dubow said positive domestic results were "partially offset by continued soft ad demand" in the British market, which is showing signs of stabilizing.

For those who don't know the correct way to pronounce "Gannett," remember -- the emphasis is always on the "net."