Newspaper publisher The McClatchy Co. reported weaker sales and profit this morning, as the slump in advertising and circulation revenue continued.

Second-quarter revenue fell to $314.3 million, down 8.1 percent from a year earlier. That rate of decline was an improvement from double-digit declines during the depths of the recession, but still reflects a weak economy that's hurting the newspaper business.

Sacramento, Calif.-based McClatchy publishes 30 daily papers across the country, including the News & Observer, Charlotte Observer and Miami Herald. Its papers in Florida and California have been especially hard hit by the housing slump and high unemployment rate.

The McClatchy Co. has sold its waterfront property in downtown Miami for $236 million, as the newspaper publisher divests some real-estate assets to bolster its financial health.

McClatchy, which is the parent corporation of The News & Observer, will use most of the money to fund its pension plan. That will free up more future profits to continue repaying the company's massive debt.

Bond-rating agency Moody's raised its outlook on McClatchy's $1.75 billion of debt to positive from stable after the news.

And McClatchy's shares rose 19 cents to $2.95 today. The stock is still down 37 percent this year.

McClatchy sold the Miami property to Genting, a Malaysian-based developer of casinos and resorts.

The McClatchy Co. reported weaker first-quarter results, hurt by ongoing declines in advertising and circulation revenue.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based company publishes The News & Observer, Charlotte Observer, Miami Herald and other newspapers across the country. Its shares fell 10 percent Tuesday to close at $3.19, and are down 42 percent in the past year.

Despite the slowly reviving economy, newspaper publishers are still struggling with soft ad sales, especially for their traditional print product. McClatchy and others continue to slash costs and look for new ways to boost their digital content and revenue.

The McClatchy Co. reported weaker fourth-quarter profit and revenue this morning, and the newspaper publisher warned that January brought bigger declines in advertising sales as the economic recovery remains shaky.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based publisher of The News & Observer, Charlotte Observer, Miami Herald and other newspapers across the country has been slashing costs to offset lower ad sales and to repay debt. McClatchy, like other media companies, was hit hard during the recession and is scrambling to beef up its online content as advertisers and readers migrate to the Internet.

For the final quarter of 2010, the company reported adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $33.6 million, or 39 cents per share. That was down from $49.6 million, or 59 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 5.9 percent to $369.9 million.

Shares of The McClatchy Co. and other newspaper publishers rose today after executives said that advertising trends continue to improve.

McClatchy, which owns The News & Observer, Charlotte Observer, and other papers across the country, said that smaller declines in print advertising, increases in digital ads and cost cutting will help fourth-quarter results. Gannett Co., the publisher of USA Today and other dailies, gave a similar positive outlook today.

Newspaper publishers are seeking a revival after a rough few years as the recession hurt ad revenue and readers shift to online news.

McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt said at a investor media conference in New York that ad revenue for October and November was down 5.8 percent from a year earlier. That was an improvement from the 6.4 percent decline in the third quarter.

"We have seen improvement in revenues in every quarter in 2010," Pruitt said in a statement. "Looking forward to 2011, we expect advertising revenues to continue to improve, and we will remain vigilant in controlling expenses."

The McClatchy Co. reported another drop in advertising revenue, as the shaky economic recovery continues to hamper the newspaper publisher.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based company owns 30 daily newspapers, including The News & Observer, Charlotte Observer and Miami Herald. It also owns 43 non-dailies such as the Cary News and Chapel Hill News.

For the third quarter, McClatchy's total revenue was $327.7 million, down 5.7 percent from a year earlier. Ad revenue fell 6.4 percent.

McClatchy is hardly alone in its pain. Gannett, the owner of USA Today and other dailies, reported a 5 percent slump in ad revenue last week. The New York Times Co. today reported declines in ad and circulation revenue.

Newspaper publisher The McClatchy Co. reported that second-quarter revenue fell 6.4 percent, as advertising and circulation continue to suffer.

The revenue decline, however, was an improvement from steep drops during the worst of the recession. It's also the latest sign that the weak advertising market that's hurt most media companies is slowly reviving.

The parent company of The News & Observer gave investors a double dose of good news this morning.

The McClatchy Co. reported that most of its lenders have agreed to refinance some of its debt, easing fears of a cash crunch. Also, the Sacramento, Calif.-based company reported fourth-quarter results that gave Wall Street more hope that the worst of the downturn may be over.

Its shares jumped 64 cents to $5.60 today. The stock closed as low as 40 cents in July.

The publisher, which also owns The Charlotte Observer, The Miami Herald and other newspapers across the country, reported that it earned $25.8 million during the last three months of 2009. That reversed a loss of $27 million, and came largely as the company continued to slash costs and jobs.