Journal Register Company Goes Belly-up

The monster that arose in the newspaper industry to devour local community newspapers and spit out their skeletal remains with the expectations of turning vasts profits, has finally bitten off more than it can chew. Debt. And lots of it.

Journal Register Company, who will best be remembered as the poster-child of a bad business model, has filed for bankruptcy.

The executives at JRC ran the company into the ground by turning a blind-eye to talent, refusing to improve on technology and focusing on their own profitability before the product. The executives are probably a bunch of frat guys who beat off tirelessly to a poster of Gordon Gecko.

Is JRC solely at fault for the financial woes facing the company? No, the newspaper industry as as a whole is facing serious financial hardships.

But that does not excuse the executives who have been running their product on a shoe-string budget. The corporate goon squad released this statement regarding the bankruptcy filing:

The Yardley, Pennsylvania-based company said advertising revenue had been driven lower by the housing downturn, declining automotive sales, the retail sector slowdown, a slow labor market that has hurt employment classifieds and a shift to online media, according to court papers filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

Oh really! It couldn't be the fact that you consider your Editorial department a "revenue losing" department and that readers don't buy a newspaper to read advertisements. Follow that with dwindling circulation numbers which lead advertisers to stray from your product and take their business elsewhere.

Secondly, are the Michigan properties. Who made that call? Have you guys been asleep at the wheel for the past 20 years? Why in the world would you invest so much money into the market surrounding the Detroit area. Was this acquisition based on the strength of the U.S. auto industry? Again, I guess nobody bothered to watch Michael Moore's films "Roger & Me" or "The Big One."

What plans do the JRC execs have now that the company is in bankruptcy?

“We intend to emerge from the Chapter 11 process stronger, leaner and more financially viable in the current environment,” James W. Hall, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement on its Web site. “Our business will continue its normal operations.”

Ok, but you forgot to mention one detail in their Mr. Hall.

As part of the bankruptcy case, the company has asked for permission to pay as much as $1.7 million in bonuses to 30 top officers and key employees should the Journal Register meet certain reorganization goals, including closing more papers and eliminating more employees. The company employs about 3,500 people.

Keep it classy you corporate fucks!