Scripps reported its first-quarter earnings, which were either up or down, depending on how you look at it.

The company announced that Local Media (its TV stations and local brands on all platforms) revenue was $353 million, up 13% from the prior-year quarter. This was mainly because political advertising was up and because they had gotten rid of so many higher-salaried people.

Now, if you look at the company as a whole, which is how you should look at earnings, total Q1 revenue was $561 million, a decrease of 6.4%, or $33.7 million, from the prior-year quarter.

So, while Scripps wants to say their earnings were up 13%, in reality, it was down almost 6 1/2%.

Just saying….