Goodwill and other Intangible Assets

6 Months Ended

Mar. 26, 2017

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 are as follows:



	26 Weeks Ended
(Thousands of Dollars)	March 26 2017

Goodwill, gross amount	1,532,458
Accumulated impairment losses	(1,288,729	)
Goodwill, beginning of period	243,729
Goodwill, end of period	243,729

Identified intangible assets consist of the following:



(Thousands of Dollars)	March 26 2017	September 25 2016

Nonamortized intangible assets:
Mastheads	23,644	23,644
Amortizable intangible assets:
Customer and newspaper subscriber lists	687,212	687,182
Less accumulated amortization	565,091	552,472
	122,121	134,710
Noncompete and consulting agreements	28,524	28,524
Less accumulated amortization	28,524	28,524
	—	—
Other intangible assets, net	145,765	158,354

Annual amortization of intangible assets for the 52 or 53 weeks ended March 2018 to March 2022 is estimated to be $20,788,000, $16,546,000, $15,382,000, $15,119,000 and $12,469,000, respectively.

In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("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 with zero or negative carrying value, the new standard requires disclosure of the amount of goodwill for those reporting units. The adoption of the new standard is required in 2019. Early adoption of the standard is permitted for impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. The Company has elected to early adopt this standard for its 2017 goodwill impairment test.

- 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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