Gannett Watch:

The nation’s largest newspaper chain announced last week it would write down its assets by as much as $3 billion this quarter, giving the public a view into a declining company (and industry) that has continued to struggle at a lower profit margin than ever before. Over the last year, the Associated Press reports, Gannett stock has lost nearly half its value. The company, which publishes The Courier-Journal and Velocity, cited Newsquest — its United Kingdom news operation — as a major source of the financial drag. In part because of a struggling real estate market there, ad revenues have been down, Gannett CFO Gracia Martore told the AP. Martore also said the writedown would not effect the company’s daily operations.