AAP StatShot Annual Report: Publishing Revenues Totaled $29.9 Billion for 2023

Certain funds affiliated with Chatham Asset Management, LLC announced that they have completed the previously announced acquisition of substantially all assets of The McClatchy Company. The new company will retain The McClatchy Company name. The transaction significantly strengthens the Company’s balance sheet so that it can deliver on its mission to provide essential, independent journalism to local communities across the United States. This milestone marks the official completion of the acquisition of the Company's assets and the successful transition of these assets from Chapter 11. As of September 4, 2020, the entirety of McClatchy’s 30 news organizations and all of its employees transitioned to a new private entity under Chatham ownership.

New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest online sales grew roughly 15.9% in January, a slight deceleration from strong gains in December and November. What the government agency calls “nonstore sales” reached $54.97 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis in January, a 10.2% increase compared with $49.87 billion. Nonstore sales mainly take place online but also include other channels such as mail and telephone orders, door-to-door sales and sales through vending machines. Click Read More below for additional information.

Gannett Co., Inc. the largest publisher in the United States including USA TODAY and over 200 local publications, filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Google for monopolization of advertising technology markets and deceptive commercial practices. The lawsuit seeks to restore competition in the digital advertising marketplace and end Google’s monopoly, which will encourage investment in newsrooms and news content throughout the country. As more Americans read the news online, publishers depend on digital advertising revenue to provide timely, cutting-edge reporting and content that communities across the country rely on. Google’s practices have depressed revenue and impacted local newsrooms adversely by monopolizing the markets for important software and technology products that publishers and advertisers use to buy and sell ad space. Google controls 90% of the market for “publisher ad servers,” which publishers use to offer ad space for sale. Google also controls over 60% of the market for “ad exchanges,” which run auctions among advertisers bidding for ad space on publishers’ websites. Google controls the largest source of advertisers bidding on exchanges. For Gannett, 60% of all buyers come through Google. The result is Google unfairly controlling selling, buying, and the exchange that matches sellers and buyers – and manipulating all aspects of online advertising transactions.