Today the Company released its fourth-quarter earnings and as part of that you are going to learn about a non-cash charge related to the New England Media Group. The charge, which amounts to $814.4 million, resulted in the Company showing a loss for the quarter and the year. It is a non-cash charge to earnings for the write-down of assets at both the Globe and the Telegram & Gazette. In other words, this is not money going out the door. Rather, it is a required accounting adjustment we made to our financial statements so that anyone reading them knows that the value of the Group is not as high as the value previously shown in our accounting records. It should have no effect on our focus, our mission or the execution of our long-term strategy.

While the charge is not surprising – the Company said last fall that this could happen and it’s certainly been reported in the press – it is difficult for all of us who care deeply about the Globe and the T & G. All of us know the reasons why this has occurred – including consolidation among important customers and the shift from print to online advertising – but that does not make it any less painful.

As Janet said in a speech just two weeks ago, the Company continues to view the Globe as an important asset. The same is true of the T & G. While the charge was a necessary step, we believe that the initiatives we have put in place and those that we are developing will result in better performance over time. Our job is clear. We need to do all we can to put our Group on a clear path to growth. We need to continue to provide our readers with the high-quality journalism that they look for in our newspapers, both in print and online, each and every day. We need to develop new products and enhance our existing ones. And we need to continue the outstanding discipline we’ve shown in managing and reducing costs.

These are not easy things to do. But there are some encouraging signs on the horizon. New stores are entering the Boston market and there are other indications that the New England economy is improving. During the six months I have served as head of our Group, I’ve learned that you, individually and as a team, are extraordinarily talented. I believe that we have the will, the resources and the ingenuity to drive our performance forward.

-- Steve Ainsley