McClatchy Co. Publishing filed for bankruptcy protection last week. With Chapter 11 filing McClatchy will restructure its debts and hopes let go of its pension obligations.
Under a plan outlined in its filing to a federal bankruptcy court, close 60 percent of debt would be removed as the news organization tries to reposition for a digital future. If accepted More than 7 million shares of both publicly available and protected family-owned stock would be canceled.
McClatchy expects fourth-quarter revenues of $183.9 million, down 14% from a year earlier. Its 2019 revenue is anticipated to be down 12.1% from the previous year. That would mean that the publisher’s revenue will have slid for six consecutive years.
The publisher’s started in 1857 when publishing a four-page paper, post gold rush that became that Sacramento Be. McClatchy Co. publishes for several other newspapers in the Carolina`s, The Miami Herald and The Kansas City Star just to name a few.
This decision will terminate the family control of America’s second-largest local news company and enable control with creditors who have supported independent journalism. The company has also worked on its financials, trimming operating expenses by $186.9 million for the three-year period ended in December. It’s also paid off about $153.5 million in debt in the same period. This shift comes at a time of news evolution as we transform and adapt from print to digital-based media.