Investors See Some Value in Newspaper Companies

Newspaper companies, of the type News Corp. might spin off, are trading at premiums to book value, suggesting investors still see value in the business. New York Times Co., McClatchy Co. and Gannett Co., three of the biggest newspaper companies, all trade at premiums to the value they would hold if they were liquidated. Though print advertising revenues remain on a decline broadly, as advertisers follow consumers increasingly onto the Internet, some local newspapers that face less competition have held up and some big publishers have managed to improve returns with online changes.