Cox Selling Austin Paper to Pay Debts

They are dropping like flies.

Cox Enterprises Inc. said today that it would be selling the Austin American-Statesman as well as five other papers according to the Associated Press.

"This decision was made as part of an ongoing strategic review of our portfolio and enables us to maintain our strong and stable financial performance by further paying down debt," Chief Executive Jim Kennedy said in a statement.

They said they will also be selling their Valpak coupon business.

The decision comes at a time when ad sales for print, TV and radio are declining and turning more to online media.

From AP:

"Looks like the newspaper people are bailing out," said Edward Atorino, an industry analyst at The Benchmark Company.

"But there are still people out there like billionaires and local businessmen who like the business and will be interested — at the right price," Atorino said.

The Statesman, which has a staff of 925 employees, says in a release that they will conduct "business as usual" until further decisions are made.