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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets | 12 Months Ended
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Sep. 24, 2023
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract] |
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets | GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows:
(Thousands of Dollars) | 2023 |  | 2022
Goodwill, gross amount | 1,618,233 |  |  | 1,618,933 |
Accumulated impairment losses | (1,288,729) |  |  | (1,288,729) |
Goodwill, beginning of year | 329,504 |  |  | 330,204 |
Disposal | — |  |  | (700) |
Goodwill, end of year | 329,504 |  |  | 329,504 |
Identified intangible assets related to continuing operations consist of the following:
(Thousands of Dollars) | September 24 2023 |  | September 25 2022
Non-amortized intangible assets: |  |  |
Mastheads | 18,675 |  |  | 26,346 |
Amortizable intangible assets: |  |  |
Customer and newspaper subscriber lists | 306,766 |  |  | 323,568 |
Less accumulated amortization | (230,453) |  |  | (228,541) |
| 76,313 |  |  | 95,027 |
Identified intangible assets | 94,988 |  |  | 121,373 |
As discussed in Note 1, the Company reviews goodwill and non-amortized intangible assets for impairment annually on the first day of the fourth quarter, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that an asset may be impaired in accordance with ASC Topic 350. All of the Company’s goodwill is attributed to the single reporting unit. When evaluating these assets for impairment, we may first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit is impaired, known as Step 0. If we do not perform a qualitative assessment, or if we determine that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, we would calculate the estimated fair value of the reporting unit using discounted cash flows or a combination of discounted cash flow and market approaches. 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 in excess of carrying value and as such, there was no impairment in 2023, 2022, and 2021.. In 2022, the Company disposed of a non-core operation with $0.7 million of attributable goodwill. For mastheads, the calculated fair value includes Level 3 inputs that were determined using the relief from royalty method. The key assumptions used in the fair value estimates under the relief from royalty method are revenue and market growth, royalty rates for newspaper mastheads (the royalty rates utilized range from 0.0% to 1.0%), estimated tax rates, and appropriate risk-adjusted weighted-average cost of capital (for 2023, 2022 and 2021, the weighted-average cost of capital used was 13.00%, 11.00% and 10.50%, respectively). These assumptions reflect Lee's best estimates, but these items involve inherent uncertainties based on market conditions generally outside of the Company's control. A 50-basis point decrease in royalty rates would result in an additional $9.3 million of impairment. Increasing the discount rate by 100 basis points would result in an additional $1.2 million of impairment. In 2023, 2022, and 2021, we recorded non-cash charges to reduce the carrying value of non-amortized intangible assets. Such charges are recorded in assets loss (gain) on sales, impairments and other in the Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) and Comprehensive Income (Loss). We recorded deferred income tax benefits related to these charges. Changes in market conditions and declines in revenue lead to the impairment charges noted above. A summary of the pretax impairment charges is included in the table below:
(Thousands of Dollars) | 2023 |  | 2022 |  | 2021
Non-amortized intangible assets | 7,671 |  |  | 14,203 |  |  | 787 |
Property, equipment and other assets | — |  |  | — |  |  | 190 |
| 7,671 |  |  | 14,203 |  |  | 977 |
Amortization expense for 2023, 2022, and 2021 was $19.0 million, $22.2 million, and $24.9 million, respectively. Annual amortization of intangible assets for the years ending September 2024 to September 2028 is estimated to be $18.4 million, $12.8 million, $7.3 million, $7.1 million, and $5.5 million, respectively. The weighted average amortization period for amortizable assets is 11.5 years.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for goodwill and intangible assets. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Topic 350 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org//350/tableOfContent + Details
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