Media company New York Times (NYSE:NYT) evidently has decided that when it comes to reporting about itself, less information is better than more.

The company announced Thursday that it expects earnings for the fourth quarter to be between $0.69 and $0.73 per share, below analysts forecasts of $0.75, and at best flat compared to earnings in last year's fourth quarter. This year's results will also miss expectations. New York Times chalked up its troubles to advertising revenue that has not lived up to hopes, rising costs for promotion, distribution and its print business -- and expenses related to strategic investments.

As for 2005 earnings, the company decided that it was better not to go into too much detail, other than to say that the coming year will be "challenging." In fact, New York Times disclosed that it would no longer provide specific guidance for full-year earnings. Instead, it will focus on earnings projections for any given quarter during that quarter.

The company noted that this new policy is an effort to give "more accurate guidance," but it seems to have its priorities wrong. For many investors, short-term accuracy is considerably less valuable than insight into a business' long-term prospects. To be fair, New York Times will provide some estimates for the year on components of its income statement, and, furthermore, the overall trend in the stock market has been away from specific guidance.

However, the media outfit's unwillingness to suggest even a broad range for annual earnings is troubling for at least one different reason: New York Times explained that its decision stems from the "limited visibility that today's media environment allows." Recent data, though, suggests that advertising spending is trending upward. Research firm TNS Media Intelligence/CMR has indicated that total U.S. ad outlays rose 10.3% in the first nine months of this year, as companies like Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), General Motors (NYSE:GM), and Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) hiked their ad budgets.

Putting two and two together, it appears New York Times has not been able to capitalize on the advertising pickup and is not confident that it can improve its performance. That's news its investors would rather not hear.

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Fool contributor Brian Gorman is a freelance writer in Chicago. He does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.