In NAA Panel, Newspaper Execs Optimistic About Future

By: Jennifer Saba As Wall Street and shareholders continue to pummel newspaper companies, executives at an industry conference this morning defended their turf.

During a roundtable discussion at the Newspaper Association of America's Mid-Year Media Review taking place in New York, management from The New York Times Co., Belo, MediaNews Group, and Lee Enterprises fielded questions from NAA president and CEO John Sturm on the state of the industry and the prospects for the future.

Sturm warmed up the panel with a softie asking why they were excited about newspapers.

"I have never been more excited about the industry," answered William Dean Singleton, MediaNews Group's CEO, and as one analyst noted, the most jovial of the group. "Many people mistake change for decline."

Indeed, executives spent most of the time addressing the local dominance of newspapers and the industry's ability to get through the difficult transition by offering news on variety of ways. New York Times Chief Janet Robinson put it this way: "We aren't just newspaper companies, we're news companies."

The real question is if investors and shareholders have the patience to see that through.

Sturm brought up the negative comments about newspapers made by Warren Buffett during his company's most recent shareholder meeting. He threw the mic first to Lee's chief Mary Junck. "It's tough to disagree with Warren Buffett. In this case I would say I disagree strongly," she said. "The concept he is putting forward" that newspapers are a dying medium, "is simply incorrect."

"Warren missed the technology boom the first time, the second time, and he's going to miss this one too," Singleton retorted.

No doubt, newspapers have been given a bad wrap. Declining print circulation and stagnant ad revenue masks the fact that newspapers are reaching more people (and younger people) online while quickly growing revenue. Robert Decherd, Belo's chairman, president, and CEO, said he was most concerned that as any industry goes through transition, there's almost always negative overreaction. "It takes time for results to be realized," he said then adding that the industry has to get better addressing online classifieds.

When the floor was allowed to ask questions, Merrill Lynch?s Lauren Rich Fine asked the panel -- with the exception of Singleton -- why they don't take their companies private.

None of the panel members relished the idea of losing access to capital. "It's almost throwing in the towel," said Decherd who cautioned anyone thinking of going down that path.

"Being owned publicly has been a good thing for us," said Junck. "It adds some burdens ... but it has enabled us to make two good sized acquisitions,"

"The New York Times Company has benefited from being in the public market ... the value proposition is far greater than what we get credit for," said Robinson who then repeated what Junck said, "We like shareholders, we love our shareholders."

Singleton (whom Decherd quipped went from maverick to guru) weighed in with what he has been saying all along. "It's all the same. You have the same responsibilities and obligations."