As predicted, Sam Zell’s Tribune Co. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In the company’s initial filing, it lists assets of $7.6 billion and $12.9 billion in liabilities. Much of that debt belongs to big banks, of course–J.P. Morgan has more than $1 billion by itself. But Tribune owes lots of money to lots of media companies, too.
How much did you spend on Friday, and where did you spend it?
We’re likely to see flash analysis of today’s shopping binge before the weekend is over. But J.P. Morgan’s Imran Khan has already called a winner for the holiday: Amazon. He says 50 percent of shoppers say they intend to buy something at the e-tailer this season.
A year ago, the conventional wisdom said that the online ad market would still grow in an economic slump because online ads were cheaper, and more effective. And they are. But if the slump is big enough–like the one we’re in now–then all bets are off. Which is why there’s no longer any conventional wisdom about the future of online ads. J.P. Morgan analyst Imran Khan, for instance, thinks growth will slow next year, and has just reduced his estimates. But Gawker publisher Nick Denton thinks we’ll be lucky if there’s any growth, period.
If you’re not paying attention, it may seem as if the cratering economy hasn’t stopped the steady stream of start-up funding announcements.
CrispyGamer, a newish videogame site, for example, just announced that it had raised $8.25 million from J.P. Morgan’s Constellation Ventures.
But unless it can figure out how to boost its ad rates, it’s going to need every penny.
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
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