Tony Ridder
Tony Ridder
difficult disrupt greater knight lives people time trust whom worked
This is a difficult time in so many ways, but in no way greater than having to disrupt the lives and trust of Knight Ridder people with whom we have worked so closely. But I do feel we have no choice.
both decided develop exit knight leave positive strategy
There were things Gannett wanted to do and things Knight Ridder wanted to do, ... We decided if we could develop an exit strategy that would leave us whole, it would be a positive thing for both parties.
cities run
In all of the cities where we have newspapers, we run the business.
both company future online position print quarter steps strong took
While the fundamentals of this quarter were disappointing, we took important steps to position our company for a strong future in both print and online publishing, and our accomplishments were significant,
ad clearly control cost early emphasis february focus growth margin paying quarter revenue seen since strongest
Ad revenue growth in February and March, boosted by the early Easter, was the strongest we have seen since the first quarter of 1998. Our focus on operations, with emphasis on cost control and margin improvement, is clearly paying off.
enhance including possible sale strategic
strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value, including the possible sale of the company.
dealing drummer
Dealing with a drummer isn't that much different from dealing with someone from IT.
advertising beat cents consensus despite faced far flat
Despite flat revenue, we beat the Street's consensus (earnings forecast) by two cents and faced by far the stiffest advertising comparisons of the year.
advertising beat cents consensus despite faced far flat
Despite flat revenue, we beat the Street's consensus (earnings forecast) by 2 cents and faced by far the stiffest advertising comparisons of the year.
delivered despite key management performance soft strong tight year
As promised, we delivered a very strong earnings-per-share (excluding nonrecurring items) performance in 1998. We did this in a year where not everything was going our way, which demonstrates our ability-and commitment-to tight management despite soft revenues in key markets.
advantage business continue newspaper strong
The newspaper business is strong in most markets, and we continue to restructure culturally to take advantage of it,
biggest bought business disney form four good great history industry newspaper newspapers print
The newspaper business is a great business, ... We've just made the biggest acquisition in the history of our industry when we bought four newspapers from Disney ( DIS ). We think the newspaper business in print form . . . is a very, very good business.
cost fourth increase level repeated
That level of cost increase will not be repeated in the fourth quarter,
although auto estate remained strong turnaround
Although recruitment and real estate have remained strong all year, we did not see the hoped-for turnaround in auto in August,