Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Questions from a reader

Some questions with what few answers I have:

I understand we should expect salary cuts and furloughs later in the year, on top of the job cuts. (I, for one, prefer furloughs to salary cuts.) What do you know about this?

I've heard that both are "on the table" where they were not a couple of months ago. Isn't a furlough also a salary cut?
I wouldn't be surprised by furloughs/salary cuts because I think our cash position is frightening. A drop in cash flow would presumably trigger a debt covenant, that could boost our interest rate cause big problems on the balance sheet.

I thought our debt position was better than other media companies? Better for sure than the other Belo? Or McClatchy?

Also, what's with the real estate reorg? Are they going to lease space in DMN building? Wouldn't it make sense to lease out space and make a little revenue? Or sell the building and move us to the Belo building?

I heard today that it's more likely we'll be seeing people from the Belo building filling space on the fourth floor that has been and is being vacated by lifestyles.

As always, anybody who knows better, please let me know.

2 comments:

  1. The Belo building has been officially split between the two companies.
    BLC is on floors 10-17, AHC has floors 2-9.

    The exec. offices take up all of two. Three will remain conf. rooms as far as I know.
    6 through 9 are Belo Technologies.
    That leaves floors 4 and 5. Hardly enough room for significant numbers of DMN'ers.
    DMN Marketing has already moved from Belo 4 to DMN 1 on the west side in front.

    FWIW, IT is moving out of the basement. The server type folks are moving to Belo. The desktop folks are moving to TXCN before or in June.

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  2. Bottom line: AH Belo must keep its cash flow above a certain level to avoid triggering debt covenants. It seems obvious, from the petty cost cuts of late, that we are dangerously close to that level.
    I worry that we are in survival mode, unable to take advantage of new revenue opportunities.

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