2007 was a tough year for U.S. newspaper companies, as 10 out of 11 saw their stock prices drop, while nearly 80 percent of the companies saw declines of more than 30 percent.

Journal Register and McClatchy experienced the downturn most seriously – their stock price plunged 75 percent and 71 percent, respectively.

Lee's and Gatehouse's stock prices also dropped 35 percent during the period, while Media General, Gannett, Journal Communications and New York Times had year-to-year declines of around 30 and 35 percent.

Belo and Scripps saw a relatively slight drop, thanks to the compensation from their TV and broadcasting arms.

The Washington Post Co. is the only one that saw its stock price increased in 2007, up five percent to $791.5 per share at the end of the year, mostly due to its successful business diversification to the educational market, according to WAN's “Investing in Newspapers” report.