YARDLEY, PA (November 12, 2008) – The Journal Register Co. informed employees at 11 weekly and 2 daily newspapers in Connecticut that they will be closed by January 12, 2009, if a buyer isn't found.
The Journal Register Co. owns 27 daily newspapers and 327 non-daily publications, mostly in the northeast.
On Monday, the company reported a net loss of $8.7 million for the year's third quarter, as compared to $11.2 million in income for the same time period last year. Advertising revenues were down 13.4 percent for this years third quarter, the company reported.
The two dailies that are at risk of closing are The Herald, circulation 9,646 in New Britain, CT, and The Bristol Press, circulation 8,285 in Bristol, CT.
The company would not give a number on how many employees might be out of their jobs if the publications close in January.
The weeklies are members of the Imprint Newspapers brand, which include the West Hartford News, the Wethersfield Post, the Newington Town Crier; the Windsor Journal, the Rocky Hill Post, the Bloomfield Journal, the Windsor Locks Journal, the Avon Post, the Farmington Post, the Simsbury Post, and the Tri-Town Post.
According to the company it has 38 weekly newspapers in Connecticut and five magazines. The company had $646 million in bank debt at the end of the third quarter with $86 million in assets but $730 million in liabilities.
