The U.S. Book Show Returns

Gannett Co., Inc. announced it will repurchase $14.0 million of 6.00% first lien notes due November 1, 2026 for approximately $12.0 million, representing a discount to par value. The transaction is expected to close on November 17, 2023. In connection with the repurchase of the 2026 Senior Notes, the Company will receive a waiver from certain lenders under its five-year senior secured term loan facility that will reduce the scheduled amortization payment for the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2023 payable to those lenders by the amount spent by the Company to repurchase the 2026 Senior Notes. "We continue to opportunistically take out additional senior notes below par value by working with our lenders, and this repurchase mirrors the executed agreement announced in mid-September," said Michael Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "With the closing of this transaction, and subsequent to the third quarter, we will have repaid $20.2 million of debt, which will bring our year-to-date total to approximately $138.0 million, which exceeds our initial projections outlined at the beginning of the year.

The New York Times Co’s second-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates, as its digital unit, which includes news, podcasts and crosswords, overtook the legacy print business for the first time. The Times, which competes for ad dollars with big players like Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, has been shifting towards a subscriber-backed model in an effort to cut its reliance on advertising. The shift has paid off for the publisher that expects third-quarter digital subscription revenue to rise about 30%. “We posted our best-ever results for new digital subscriptions, and for the first time in our history total digital revenue exceeded print revenue..,” outgoing Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson said in a statement.

In the age of digital dominance, a surprising and heartwarming trend defies the wave—millennials’ and Gen Z’s preference for physical greeting cards. Even though these generations are digital natives, recent studies and surveys reveal that many prefer the tangible charm and personalization of paper greeting cards over their e-counterparts. According to a recent poll from online card and gift giant Shutterfly1, more than half (54%) of Americans say they still mail their greeting cards versus sending via digital and social platforms. The new survey of 2,000 U.S. adults split evenly by generation revealed that two out of three prefer to receive physical cards as opposed to digital ones, including younger respondents who are millennials (62%) or are part of Gen Z (59%). Personalization was a big deal to survey respondents, preferring to include family, vacation, or pet photos with cards.