Stock Market At 1997 Level? Newspapers Would LOVE It

By: Mark Fitzgerald The Dow Jones Industrial Average's plunge to 1997 levels is recounted in Tuesday's newspapers with the gloom and alarm it deserves. The Wall Street Journal reports that "markets shudder across the globe." The New York Times said it reflected "fears that the world's economies are even weaker than had been thought."

But it's a measure of how far newspaper stocks have fallen that if they were selling at the prices they sold for in 1997 -- it would represent a miraculous reversal of fortunes.

On Monday, five well-respected newspaper companies traded for pennies a share on the New York Stock Exchange, and four others traded on actual OTC penny stock exchanges, having been exiled from the Big Board and Amex last year.

Gannett Co., the biggest newspaper publisher in America, could not find a buyer willing to pay even $3 a share for its stock.

Here's what the world for newspaper stocks looked like on March 3, 1997 -- and how it is Tuesday.

On that trading session 12 years ago, Gannett (NYSE: GCI) stock closed at $76.06 a share. It opened Tuesday at $2.96.

Lee Enterprises (NYSE: LEE) closed March 3, 1997 at $21.92. It opened Tuesday at 36 cents.

Media General (NYSE: MEG) closed at $30.87 back then. It opened Tuesday at $1.76.

The McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) closed 12 years ago today at $23.79. It opened at 47 cents.

The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) closed out the March 3, 1997 session at $42.48. It opened Tuesday at $4.14.

Of the newspaper companies that were publicly traded in on that March day in 1997, only The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) held its value. It closed 12 years ago at $335.77 a share. Tuesday, it opened at $348.40.