"There are some exceptions to this story," Richard Perez-Pena reports for The New York Times today. "Companies like Gannett that do not have a lot of debt, and did not make major new newspaper acquisitions in recent years, are in much better shape than their peers, despite sharp revenue declines."The last big Gannett deal I recall was more than eight years ago, when the company paid $2.6 billion cash to the Pulliam family for The Indianapolis Star and The Arizona Republic, plus four dailies in Indiana and Louisiana.
Papers would be in trouble no matter what. "But the companies in the weakest condition are there largely because they borrowed a lot of money to buy papers,'' Perez-Pena says, singling out Tribune, which just sought bankruptcy protection. "Tribune’s was the biggest of those deals, $8.2 billion to take private the company whose assets include the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and 23 television stations, a transaction that almost tripled the company’s debt."
[Image: yesterday's Star front page, Newseum]
Blame, it on the tax laws? If a family owned newspaper, did not have so much inherit's tax, when the head of the paper dies. Families would not be FORCED, to sell, their newspapers just to avoid paying the large tax debt. Newspapers, companies like Tribune, and GCI, would not have anything to buy and no reason to get a debt. Just to buy something to please stockholders?
ReplyDeleteWe're in better shape?
ReplyDeleteI can't tell. My McClatchy friends all still work for McClatchy.
MNI not far behind, my friend. Will be much worse than GCI.
ReplyDelete