Friday, February 20, 2009

Tucson: Deadline passes; Citizen closer to death

The deadline for bids on the Tucson Citizen has passed, apparently with no offers, which means the paper likely will cease publication March 21 after 138 years in business, the paper says today. Still, Corporate told the Citizen that yesterday's bid deadline was "flexible," leaving the door open for an 11th-hour purchase.
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous2/20/2009 7:20 PM

    Here's a thought: Why pay for it when you don't have to?

    Let it go out of business, then start a new paper. Instead of paying big bucks up front for a brand name that (evidently) doesn't have the public support to stay in business, why not use the bucks to start a new brand? New brand, new image, a window of opportunity to do things differently without the baggage the old name brings with it. And millions saved to be used to build your own business. Makes sense to me.

    Who in their right mind believes that the subscriber list and the "loyalty" (hah!) of advertisers is worth the purchase price. Not just in Tucson--anywhere. Newspapers will survive in a form in Tucson and elsewhere. They just won't be THOSE newspapers with THOSE owners in THOSE forms.

    Sounds like an opportunity in Tucson to me. Prediction: The opportunity will be seized by someone(s) within three months of the Citizen's shut-down.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2/20/2009 8:34 PM

    WHY START ANEW. GANNETT WILL STILL BE MAKING MONEY TO PAY THE FAT CATS FROM THE JOA.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2/21/2009 8:40 AM

    It's already happening. Tucson Weekly for one. They have one ex-Citizen writer in Leo Banks. These types of newspapers will fill the void left when Gannett goes hopping and skipping into oblivion.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous2/21/2009 11:15 AM

    Is this the paper that has a job posted for someone to sell car ads?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2/26/2009 5:00 PM

    Doesn't it seem likely that Gannett has no intention of selling to anyone and wants to close the Citizen.

    Then, with money bags in tow, G can make a play for the larger Lee-owned Arizona Daily Star?

    Though Lee has refinanced its mounting debt, it seems that it might be open to an offer from Gannett.

    I almost hope it comes to fruition just so everyone who has thought so all these years would be right!

    You know Gannett wants to get a stranglehold on Arizona by owning the massive AZ Republic AND the Star - it is still a quickly emerging market and has loads of potential.

    And my thought to the first comment here: Why would anyone in their right mind START a newspaper?

    Baby, that ship has sailed.

    ReplyDelete

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