Newspaper shares plunged in the beginning of July, knocking US$3.9 billion off their value, according to Alan D. Mutter's Newsosaur blog.

The total loss of newspapers' stock value amounts to $27.7 billion since the beginning of 2008, a decline of 35.7 percent.

The combined market value of newspapers plunged by $10.2 billion since the beginning of July, but if Scripps is not counted, then the drop becomes $3.9 billion, as Scripps alone dropped by about $6.2 billion to US$522 million on the July 1, after it was re-launched as purely a newspaper company and its non-paper assets were spun off into a separate firm, Mutter stated in his blog.

According to Mutter, the most drastic falls in market value are:

- McClatchy (MNI), down by 93% from $5.7 billion to $387 million since December 31, 2004.
- Lee Enterprises (LEE), down by 93% from $2 billion to $145 million since December 31, 2004.
- GateHouse Media (GHS), down by 95% from $1.2 billion to $59 million since October 2006.
- Sun-Times Media Group (SUTM), down by 98% from $1.3 billion to $32 million since December 31, 2004.
- Journal Register Co. (JRCO), down 99% from $746 million to $6 since December 31, 2004.

News Corp. (NWS) and the Washington Post (WPO) had significantly smaller drops in market value since December 31, 2004. News Corp. has dropped to $37.2 billion, a 36 percent fall, while the Washington Post has decreased to $5.5 billion, a 24 percent plunge.

News Corp.'s “heavy exposure to newspapers” may be the reason that the company has been downgraded on the market. News Corp.'s business plans with the Japanese online ad market may be an indication that the company is trying to deal with the economic realities of the newspaper industry.

The Washington Post's ventures with web-based magazines and a separate political site may also be seen as indications that news companies are looking for solutions to deal with their declining market values.