Goodwill and other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets [Abstract]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Text Block]

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill related to continuing operations are as follows:



(Thousands of Dollars)	2018		2017

Goodwill, gross amount	1,535,155		1,532,458
Accumulated impairment losses	(1,288,729	)	(1,288,729	)
Goodwill, beginning of year	246,426		243,729
Goodwill acquired in business combinations	—		2,697
Goodwill allocated to disposed businesses	(250	)	—
Goodwill, end of year	246,176		246,426

Identified intangible assets related to continuing operations consist of the following:



(Thousands of Dollars)	September 30 2018	September 24 2017

Non-amortized intangible assets:
Mastheads	21,883	22,035
Amortizable intangible assets:
Customer and newspaper subscriber lists	692,886	691,994
Less accumulated amortization	594,950	577,727
	97,936	114,267
Non-compete and consulting agreements	28,524	28,524
Less accumulated amortization	28,524	28,524
	—	—
	119,819	136,302

In January 2017, the FASB issued a new standard simplifying the assessment of a goodwill impairment. The new standard maintains a qualitative and quantitative assessment but eliminates the Step 2 of the quantitative assessment. The new standard also changes the way a goodwill impairment is calculated. For companies that have reporting units with zero or negative carrying value, the new standard requires disclosure of the amount of goodwill for those reporting units. The Company elected to early adopt this standard for its 2017 goodwill impairment test.

The Company is a single reporting unit entity with negative carrying value, and as such all of the Company’s goodwill is attributed to the single reporting unit. The Company performed its annual assessment on the first day of our fourth fiscal quarter, and determined the fair value of our single reporting unit was significantly in excess of carrying value and as such, there was no impairment in 2018 or 2017 under either the prior standard or the updated standard.

In 2017 and 2016, due to continuing revenue declines, we recorded non-cash charges to reduce the carrying value of non-amortized intangible assets. We also recorded pretax charges to reduce the carrying value of other assets in 2018, 2017 and 2016. Such charges are recorded in assets loss (gain) on sales, impairments and other in the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income (Loss). We recorded deferred income tax benefits related to these charges.

A summary of the pretax impairment charges is included in the table below:



(Thousands of Dollars)	2018	2017	2016

Continuing operations:
Non-amortized intangible assets	—	2,035	818
Property, equipment and other assets	267	482	1,367
	267	2,517	2,185

In June 2017, we purchased the assets of the Dispatch-Argus serving Moline and Rock Island, IL, (the "Dispatch-Argus"), for $7,150,000 plus an adjustment for working capital. The Dispatch-Argus is a media company with print and digital publishing operations. We financed the transaction with available cash on hand. The purchase price was allocated to the tangible assets and identified intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. As of the acquisition date, the purchase price assigned to the acquired assets and assumed liabilities were as follows: current assets of $989,000, property, plant, and equipment of $100,000, intangible assets of $5,199,000, goodwill of $2,445,000, and current liabilities of $1,056,000.

Annual amortization of intangible assets for the years ending September 2019 to September 2023 is estimated to be $16,417,000, $15,651,000, $14,488,000, $12,308,000, and $11,687,000, respectively.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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