Quarterly Yearnings

It’s been a rough couple of days for station groups announcing their second-quarter earnings. Tribune said diluted earnings per share were $.17, down from $.53 last year, advertising revenues were down 11%, and the TV division’s operating cash flow slipped 12%. 

Over at Hearst-Argyle, net income for the quarter was $17 million, down from $25 million in the second quarter of 2006, thanks to predictably weak political spending and what boss David Barrett called an unprecedented slip in the automotive category. 

While financial services propped up McGraw-Hill, its TV sector’s revenue plummeted 16%. 

Can some of next week’s announcers of earnings, including CBS Corp. on Tuesday, reverse the trend?