The coronavirus pandemic affected many newspapers as the majority saw advertisers pull advertisements, resulting in layoffs and furloughs. However, media outlets decided to withhold financial figures lost due to the pandemic.
Nonetheless, The Wrap reports one of the most prominent newspapers in the United States, The Los Angeles Times, and its sister paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, lost “north of $50 million” of revenue in 2020.
Furthermore, executives at the California Times, the parent company for both newspapers, told staff that although most of the financial hits came from the newspaper advertising, other aspects such as digital advertising took hits financially.
This week, the California Times recently received a $10 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for staff-related expenses after losing ad revenue during the pandemic.
California Times President Chris Argentieri stated that they would use this loan for employee-related costs, including payroll and employee benefits, as they try to recover from the financial blow they were dealt last year.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
