LEE Death Watch

Lee Enterprises (LEE) is down to $5.05 a share today.

$35.15 on February 15, 2007
$30.60 on April 18, 2007
$25.12 on May 31, 2007
$20.09 on July 17, 2007
$15.29 on December 26, 2007
$10.41 on April 8, 2008
$7.71 on May 13, 2008
$6.51 on June 5, 2008

Lee Enterprises CEO Mary Junck in February 2007:

Lee Enterprises is poised for strength ahead as its newspapers maintain solid circulation while at the same time expanding their online components to extend their reach, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer told shareholders this morning.

“We at Lee are not buying the negative,” Mary Junck said of the “pot shots” that some pundits have taken at the newspaper industry. “It is not what we are seeing from our industry.”

...Across Lee, she said the newspapers are located in healthy, diverse markets and are the media leaders in their markets. Among the reasons for her optimism, she said, is Lee’s ability to maintain a solid circulation base, its big and growing market reach and its emphasis on revenue growth.

That stock is now down nearly 80% in the past 16 months.