Washington Post Co. Reports $6.2 Million Loss In Q3

The Washington Post had its fourth straight quarter of declining revenue, announcing a $6.2 million loss for the third quarter of 2011 on Friday.

That is a steep reversal from the company's 2010 third quarter earnings, which saw the Post make a $60.9 million profit.

The Post Co. recently instituted a free trial period for students in accordance with Department of Education standards, and enrollment was down 30% from the same time last year.

These changes were also responsible for a 50% drop in profits in the second quarter. In August, the company had predicted that revenue would decline for the rest of the year.

The newspaper side of the Post Co. continued to struggle as well, reporting a $9.9 million loss compared to last year. Both print and online ad revenue were down 20%, and circulation continued to decline.

The company was also hit by a series of poor investments, which was responsible for $44 million in write-downs.

Comments

[HarpoSnarx]

12:06 PM on 11/07/2011

And the Donnie Graham error continues.

[altohone]

12:23 AM on 11/07/2011

I wonder what a diploma from a bankrupt school is worth?

[thepill]

08:34 PM on 11/06/2011

I cancelled my subscription when they gave Sarah Palin editorial space on Cap and Trade. It was a signal to me of how far the paper had slid to the right.

[MilesToGo]

02:11 AM on 11/07/2011

Likewise...I watched for several years as the Wash Post continued its right-wing corporate slant, in the guise of being an "Independent" news source. The Sarah Palin op-ed was the final straw.

[whyputaname]

07:55 PM on 11/06/2011

Oh well, they said a few yrs ago that the internet was going to be the Newspaper of the future.....

That's capitalism for ya.....

[katooom]

05:43 PM on 11/06/2011

No surprise here. Not long ago the Post was fat even on weekdays, the Sun paper was HUGE.

Nowdays the weekday Post looks like a small sales circular. Even Sunday is not much bigger than our local county paper.

But not surprising. There is no need to read the WaPo. You know what they are going to say. Mo govt, mo govt, mo govt! The people are not buying it anymore.

[bhaines213]

01:26 PM on 11/06/2011

The Post did better when they worked harder at being a local paper for the D.C. area in addition to being a national paper. The hard news sections still have some award winning journalists but the current format allows too much opinion to seep into the news pages. The opinion pages are full of war-mongers who are constantly trying to influence the government to bomb or invade another country. Also, they insult the local population by encouraging the federal government to interfere in local matters. They won’t be considered a local paper by being against home rule. The local population is mostly liberal so they won’t move to the Washington Times but they can certainly get their news from TV, radio and the internet if they feel offended by the Washington Post.

[kurtvb]

06:50 AM on 11/06/2011

This is what happens when real journalism is forsaken for repeating talking points. When news organizations go back to investigative journalism, actually pointing out factual errors that politicians and corporations make in their statement, and reporting what is actually going on rather than what corporations want printed, people will go back to newspapers, or their internet equivalent. Until then, we will continue to see these kinds of losses throughout the industry.

[mirza]

01:03 AM on 11/06/2011

Deservedly so...

[Larry Braxton]

09:12 PM on 11/05/2011

Were they doing better when they were part of the "liberal media"?

[GSR]

08:09 PM on 11/05/2011

Losing a once great paper is always sad. But the WaPo died 10 years ago. The current rag is just another Washington Examiner trying to pass itself off as a serious journal.

[sylvia wadlington]

12:02 PM on 11/05/2011

Just checked, The Washington Post is NOT owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and should not be vilified with false accusations. Of course commentors can not post enough on the failure of Fox News to be fair, balanced or accurate. They are a money maker used to buy political muscle. Murdoch gave the republican governor's ass. one million dollars in the last election and the people got Scott Walker and the rest of the republican dictator govenors for his efforts. America can't wait for Rupie to get his.

[cobry4949]

05:16 AM on 11/05/2011

good paper

[nanotubz]

02:41 PM on 11/06/2011

Once.

[HC says]

08:55 PM on 11/04/2011

When more people connect the Washington Post as the oarent / creator or Politico, things will get worse as reader cancel their subscription in protest of the Cain smear job.

[Rolex Rider]

07:18 PM on 11/04/2011

I suppose catering to the left doesn't really pay off.

[HC says]

08:56 PM on 11/04/2011

Look at how big MSNBC's ratings are compared to Fox. See how many more people listed to Ed Schultz than Limbaugh.

[donnie-cheesehead]

01:37 AM on 11/05/2011

thats a Murdock Paper Genius, and they don't cater to the left.

You do NOT get your 21 cents for that post.

[mirza]

01:05 AM on 11/06/2011

conservatives need to be told what to think...liberals don't

[ldmason45]

05:40 PM on 11/04/2011

Great News ! Bye - Bye ! Left-wing news orgs are a dime a dozen these days. So many choices.