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GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 29, 2024
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)20242023
Goodwill, gross amount1,618,233 1,618,233 
Accumulated impairment losses(1,288,729)(1,288,729)
Goodwill, beginning of year329,504 329,504 
Disposal(1,464)— 
Goodwill, end of year328,040 329,504 
Identified intangible assets related to continuing operations consist of the following:
(Thousands of Dollars)September 29
2024		September 24
2023
Non-amortized intangible assets:
Mastheads10,917 18,675 
Amortizable intangible assets:
Customer and newspaper subscriber lists262,242 306,766 
Less accumulated amortization(203,084)(230,453)
59,158 76,313 
Identified intangible assets70,075 94,988 
In 2024, the Company disposed $44.5 million of gross cost and accumulated amortization related to fully amortized customer and newspaper subscriber lists.
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, which has a negative carrying value as of September 29, 2024. 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 2024, 2023 and 2022. In 2024 and 2022, the Company sold certain non-core operations. Goodwill was allocated to these operations, which totaled $1.3 million and $1.3 million, respectively.
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 a range from 0.0% to 1.0%), estimated tax rates, and appropriate risk-adjusted weighted-average cost of capital (for 2024, 2023 and 2022, the weighted-average cost of capital used was 12.50%, 13.00% and 11.00%, 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 $4.6 million of impairment. Increasing the discount rate by 100 basis points would result in an additional $0.1 million of impairment. In 2024, 2023, and 2022, we recorded non-cash charges to reduce the carrying value of non-amortized intangible assets. Such charges are recorded in assets loss 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)202420232022
Non-amortized intangible assets7,758 7,671 14,203 
Property, equipment and other assets— — — 
7,758 7,671 14,203 
Amortization expense for 2024, 2023, and 2022 was $17.2 million, $19.0 million, and $22.2 million, respectively.
Annual amortization of intangible assets for the years ending September 2025 to September 2029 is estimated to be $11.2 million, $7.1 million, $7.1 million, $5.7 million, and $4.9 million, respectively.