A Surprise Leader in the Print-Media Bankruptcy Sweepstakes

The 30 percent of voters who think Barnes & Noble (owner of the Nook tablet platform) will go bankrupt this year is well ahead of the number voting for Quad/Graphics (23 percent; printing presses), the U.S. Postal Service (22 percent), and Verso (paper mills, 20 percent).

Financial markets seem to have pegged Verso as the most likely to succumb among the three private companies. Its market value has dropped precipitously in the past year, to 84 percent below its peak and less than 1/30th of annual revenue. B&N and Quad both have market values of about 1/10th their annual sales.