DAVENPORT, Iowa – The newspaper chain Lee Enterprises, which owns the Winona Daily News, told shareholders that operating revenue declined 1% in the latest quarter. Operating revenue totaled $121.4 million. The decline was cushioned by new financial arrangements with the investment company Berkshire Hathaway and the Buffalo News, which added $14.6 million of revenue. Even so, total operating revenue was off 10%. The company, which has newspapers in 77 markets, blamed losses on the continuing decline of ink-on-paper news media and the negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. A bright spot continued to be TownNews, a digital media and online publishing company based in Moline, Illinois, whose revenue increased 11.1% to $24 million over the previous 12 months. The chain’s advertising revenue, however, declined 3.2%. Digital only subscribers totaled nearly 200,000, a 91.7% increase over the previous year, with page views were up 8.6%.
Almanac: Lee Enterprises