Shares of McClatchy, owner of the News & Observer and the Charlotte Observer, jumped more than 25 percent today after the Sacramento, Calif.-based newspaper chain reported fourth quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

The company reported net income of $42 million, or 49 cents per share, compared to income of $15.7 million, or 18 cents per share, during the fourth quarter of 2010.

That beat the consensus of 40 cents per share among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Revenues in the fourth quarter were $351.4 million, down 5 percent from the same period in 2010. Advertising revenues were down 5.7 percent and circulation revenues were down 3 percent.
 

Newspaper publisher The McClatchy Co. reported weaker third earnings today, with ad revenues slumping 10 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Third-quarter revenue fell to $300.2 million, down 8.4 percent from a year earlier. While better than the double-digit declines the company recorded during the depths of the recession, today's results are further proof of how the weak economy is continuing to hurt newspapers.

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.

Net income fell to $12.4 million, or 14 cents a share.

Dex One, the Cary yellow pages publisher that continues to shake up its operations to offset slower sales, today named a new chief financial officer.

Gregory Freiberg, 44, joins the company on Sept. 12. He replaces Steven Blondy, who stepped down as CFO in July. Blondy had been CFO of the company previously known as R.H. Donnelley since March 2002.

Freiberg will report to Alfred Mockett, who took over as CEO nearly a year ago. Since then, Dex One has been remaking itself into a digital business, as customers shift away from traditional print yellow pages. The economic slowdown has also hurt advertising sales, and Dex One is still losing money.

On the back page of the August 15, 1978 edition of The RaleighTimes is this ad for the new car telephones.

Dex One, the yellow pages publisher that's remaking itself into a digital advertising business, reported another drop in quarterly revenue this morning.

The Cary-based company has seen advertising sales slump as the economic slowdown erodes demand from small businesses.

For the current quarter, the company expects ad sales to drop as much as 15 percent.

But Dex One raised its estimate for 2011 cash flow, a measure of profit for companies with lots of debt, to $375 million to $400 million.

The company's stock, down 89 percent in the past year, fell 24 cents to close at $2.09 today.

WakeMed has started a short advertising campaign to bolster support for its $750 million offer to buy rival hospital Rex Healthcare.

The print and radio ads, which will run for a week or so, are designed to answer some questions about why WakeMed made the offer, said spokeswoman Debbie Laughery.

"One way for us to get our side of the story out there is to put it in ads," she added. "We received questions and there are some misunderstandings."

The ads contend that combining Rex with WakeMed won't disrupt health care or limit choice, and will create a stronger, unified health system that's better able to focus on adding new services rather than duplicating existing care.

The UNC Health Care System has owned Rex since 2000. UNC officials have said they aren't interested in sale, but on Monday, the UNC Health board announced it has formed a committee to review WakeMed's offer over the next several weeks.

Dell doesn't want to be outdone by rival Lenovo on the advertising front.

Dell plans to start an $80 million ad campaign this month, to help boost slowing sales of its personal computers, Bloomberg News reported.

Chinese PC maker Lenovo, which has a headquarters in Morrisville, started its own ad campaign last month, with an estimated cost of $100 million.

The campaigns even feature similar, dueling taglines.

For those who always thought Cheerwine should be promoted by a leggy 23-year-old blonde in Daisy Duke shorts, you're in luck.

The sugary soft drink announced today that it has chosen Spencer Cummings to be the first ever Miss Cheerwine. She's a High Point native and University of Alabama grad who now lives in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“Born and bred a North Carolina girl, I introduced all of my friends and college roommates to the drink and brought back cases of Cheerwine before we could buy it in Chattanooga, so I feel I’ve been an ambassador all my life,” Cummings explained in a release.

“I can’t wait to communicate my true love for Cheerwine and put a smile on people’s faces with the Cheerwine experience this summer.”

She'll spend the summer travelling around the South doing promotional events. The summer tour kicks off at FUBAR in Raleigh on Friday night.

Steven M. Blondy, the finance chief of Dex One, plans to resign from the Cary yellow pages publisher.

Blondy, 51, will step down by July 31, and the company has started a search for  a new chief financial officer, Dex One announced this morning.

He will receive a lump-sum separation fee of $2.6 million, plus other benefit payments, Dex One reported in an filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Blondy has been CFO of the company previously known as R.H. Donnelley since March 2002.

Charlotte advertising and marketing agency Luquire George Andrews has won the N.C. state tourism account for the next five years, Charlotte Observer staff writer Mark Washburn reports.

During pitch meetings with the state, LGA offered proposals to promote tourism in fresh ways, including social media and other developing technologies, LGA President Peggy Brookhouse said Wednesday.

“Our point was that it’s a strong brand, and we just want to work with the division to enhance it and use technology,” said Brookhouse, who learned Tuesday that LGA had won the high-profile account beginning July 1.

Other major LGA clients include BB&T, Novant Health and Piedmont Natural Gas.

LGA was one of five finalists for the account, worth about $7 million annually, said Margo Metzger, spokeswoman for the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. Every five years, the account goes up for review.