Uh-oh. The Washington Post’s parent company is in trouble. They’re reporting they had a 77% drop in earnings in a one year period. The Post Co.’s 2008 fourth quarter net income was $18.8 million on revenue of $1.16 billion, compared with net income of $82.9 million on revenue of $1.13 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The company’s newspaper division reported a $192.7 million operating loss for 2008. Almost half of that loss stems from the cost of early-retirement packages taken by 231 Post employees.
The magazine division — largely Newsweek — had a $10.9 million operating profit for the fourth quarter but a $16.1 million operating loss for 2008.