BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Sept. 21, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on behalf of all securities purchasers of the Belo Corporation (NYSE:BLC) ("Belo" or the "Company") from May 12, 2003 and August 6, 2004 inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Darren J. Check, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint charges Belo, Robert W. Decherd, and Barry Peckham with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that defendants implemented a circulation sales rewards program designed to incentivise contractors to sell more of The Dallas Morning News newspapers to the general public; (2) that the contractors, in order to qualify for the circulation sales rewards, were overstating the true amounts of newspapers that were sold to the public; (3) that circulation managers failed to verify the contractors sales in order to take advantage of the rewards program; (4) that as a consequence of the foregoing, Belo's reported audited circulation numbers were materially inflated, which in turn allowed Belo to sell more advertisements thereby achieving higher advertizing revenues for the Company; and (5) that Belo's reported financial results, as a result of the aforementioned scheme, were materially inflated at all relevant times.
On August 5, 2004, Belo announced that The Dallas Morning News, a wholly-owned subsidiary, reported a greater than expected decline in its September 2004 circulation. News of this shocked the market. Share of Belo fell $1.66 per share, or 7.15 percent, on August 6, 2004, to close at $21.55 per share.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than October 22, 2004 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.