Milwaukee-based Journal Communications, which owns the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, AM 620 WTMJ and Channel 4 TMJ4, was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the recall election for Gov. Scott Walker.
The massive spending on political ads for the recall campaign helped Journal Communications boost its second quarter profit by 24 percent, compared to the second quarter of 2011, to net earnings of $7.61 million, the company reported. Total revenue for the quarter was up 6 percent to $95.5 million.
“Journal Communications had a strong second quarter with operating earnings up 17 percent driven by political and issue advertising and a continuing recovery in many of our local broadcast markets,” said Steven Smith, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Journal Communications.
For the second quarter, the company’s broadcasting revenue increased 18.4 percent to $54.5 million. Total broadcast political and issue advertising revenue was $5.7 million compared to $900,000 in the second quarter of 2011.
However, publishing revenue decreased 6.9 percent in the second quarter to $41.1 million, largely due to continued decreases in the classified, national and retail advertising categories, the company said. Revenue at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel decreased 4.1 percent to $35.2 million in the second quarter.
