The Press: Hearst Deficit

The economic health of the Hearst publishing empire has always been a closely guarded secret. For clues, the curious can examine only Hearst Consolidated Publications, Inc., which includes six of the eleven Hearst papers* and is the sole publicly held corporation in the Hearst complex. Last week Hearst Consolidated released figures suggesting that its health is poor indeed. On gross revenues of $153 million in 1961, the company logged a record deficit of $8,766,584.

Over the past decade, the corporation has skipped 28 (out of 40) dividends on its preferred stock, and its deficit has climbed alarmingly: $2.4 million in 1959, nearly $6.5 million in 1960. To reduce costs, Hearst officers have ruthlessly winnowed its newspaper ranks by merger or sale, most recently in Los Angeles, when Hearst’s morning Examiner vanished into its afternoon paper, the Herald-Express (TIME, Jan. 12). The annual report also warned stockholders to expect a serious loss in the first quarter of this year—partly because of “heavy expenses” incurred in the Los Angeles merger.

* Plus Hearst’s Sunday supplement, American Weekly, several pulp and paper mills, radio stations, assorted other properties.