The Chicago-based Tribune Co. has announced that its profits plunged 38% in the fourth-quarter. The owner of 11 major regional dailies and television stations cited severance charges for the 900 jobs it is in the process of cutting and the closing of a Los Angeles Times printing press among other things as causing the dramatic downturn.

The disappointing financial report follows a trend in the American newspaper industry. It was discovered in January that the New York Times Co. lost 35% of its stock market value in 2005 and Knight Ridder also announced this week that it's profits plummeted 22% in the fourth quarter.

Also following newspaper trends, the Tribune's online division saw online revenues jump 40% over the same period, according to PaidContent.

Sources: Northwest Herald, South Florida Business Journal, PaidContent