The cranky bear

Ad revenue is down, newsprint prices are up, circulation remains a see-saw a ride, and the bear's looking mighty cranky on Wall Street.

It's recession time, leading to layoffs, hiring freezes, expense cutbacks and more at media outlets in the United States and elsewhere.

Below is a sampling of recent stories. For continuing coverage, I'd recommend Jim Romenesko's MediaNews at http://www.medianews.org , Editor and Publisher's daily headlines at http://www.editorandpublisher.com , and I Want Media's not-so-cheery compilation of layoffs at http://www.iwantmedia.com/layoffs.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/art...

In this March 8th piece, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz runs down the bad news and talks to industry analysts about where we're headed.

"Down" is the short answer.

"You're going to see a lot more of this," Kevin Gruenich, an industry analyst with Bear Stearns, tells Kurtz. "This could be the worst year since 1991, which was the worst media recession since World War II."

But the very bottom is not our destination, it appears. Another analyst offers a reality check: "Newspapers are not like industrial concerns that actually lose money in a recession. All newspapers do is make less."

http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB98450397436...

In a March 13 story, Barron Online looks at the mood of newspaper investors.

Henry Berghoef, who holds five million shares in Knight Ridder, looks to be the most chipper in the crowd. "People like to think papers are passe, dead and buried. But these are businesses much more valuable than people give them credit for."

http://www.bergen.com/biz/furlo182001031...

The Press of Atlantic City tells staffers they'll have to help the paper weather the recession by taking a week of unpaid leave.

http://www.poynter.org/medianews/memos.h...

At MediaNews, you'll find memos as they're delivered. The current offerings focus on the layoffs news at the San Jose Mercury News and the staff's response.

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