Credit woes for local papers

Standard & Poor's has put MediaNews Group, the Dean Singleton chain, and Freedom Communications, parent of the Register, on Creditwatch, with negative implications. That could mean lower ratings on its debt, which would make it more expensive for the two companies to borrow money – and of course raises unhappy possibilities about still more newsroom cuts throughout the two chains. Both placements were due to the lousy conditions in the newspaper industry. MN and Freedom are privately held, but they borrow money in the public markets, so some of their financials must be reported. S&P says that MN's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization have fallen as a result of lower ad revenue. Freedom has a lukewarm BB corporate credit rating. (Thomson, Bizjournals)