Posted on 04/02/2007 8:14:19 AM PDT by shrinkermd
Sam Zell, a flamboyant Chicago real estate tycoon who has never run a newspaper, has won the battle of the billionaires for the Tribune Company, meeting the company’s demand for a higher bid to match one from Ronald W. Burkle and Eli Broad.
Tribune announced that its stockholders will receive $34 a share, or $8.2 billion. Mr. Zell is supporting the deal with a $315 million investment and will join the board. The centerpiece of his proposal is a complex financial structure known as an employee stock ownership plan, which is to pay for much of the deal. Separately, the company announced that it will sell the Chicago Cubs after this season...
...In an interview in December 2004 with The New York Times, after The Tribune’s revelations, Mr. Zell suggested that he did not have a high opinion of journalists.
“I started out as a kid thinking that reporters are out there to do good, to expose the world to the truth,” he said in an interview in his office. “Over the years I’ve gotten a lot smarter. I’ve gotten a lot thicker skin.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I think this is going to end badly...
Do u all understand Zell is a outspoken CONSERVATIVE.... He will own the LA TIMES ala Murdoch and Fox...!
I'm thinking The NY Times was less than excited about reporting this story....
This is a good thing, right? We wouldn't want that FOB zillionaire owning all of these outlets with Hillary running for Prez! I forget the guys name, former owner of Ralph's Supermarkets in SoCal I think?
D'oh!!! That would be Burkle, the guy listed in the first paragraph! Sorry.. had to give up coffee, it's not going well!
Of course the NY Times is po'd.......... their counterpart in mis-information just moved to the right....... no doubt this is a good thing as those two LA Dummies woulda turned this paper back towards a full time Kommie Machine. I'll bet the Chandler Family is happy and my Kos friends here in LA pulling hair and grinding teeth....!!!
Of course the NY Times is po'd.......... their counterpart in mis-information just moved to the right....... no doubt this is a good thing as those two LA Dummies woulda turned this paper back towards a full time Kommie Machine. I'll bet the Chandler Family is happy and my Kos friends here in LA pulling hair and grinding teeth....!!!
I think I'll wait and see before proclaiming the LA Times is moving to the right.
The fact remains that you need journalists to run a paper and journalists by and large are huge majority left. At best I think they will end up having to be less blatant about their slant to the left, but we shall see.
Even in conservative communities such as here in Alabama or the supposedly conservative Fox News the media is not so much right, but balanced enough to give the left the impression that they are far right. As far as the left are concerned, providing both sides of the issue is proof of a right slant so use are they to the leftist view being openly promoted by the media.
bttt
Did you hear he was talking about selling the Cubs?
Which do you think sounds better, the New York Cubs or the Los Angeles Cubs?
San Antonio Cubs
LOL!
The way I read it, Zell will only own 40% of the non voting stock and the employees will own all of the voting stock. I think Zell is acting as a banker for the employees to buy the company. The lefties will end up with control of this dinosaur media, and Zell will end up with a lot of their money.
I think it's brilliant! People who have their own money invested in an enterprise are far more likely to make sure that it is a viable company. i.e. telling the truth instead of pushing an agenda equals more business by people who trust.
Mr. Zell has contributed to politicians on both sides of the aisle. In 2003 he gave $2,000 to the Bush/Cheney primary compaign. In the same year he contributed $1,000 each to Russ Feingold's and Tom Delay's campaigns. Here is a link to a list of all of his donations from 1979 thru 2006, $254,900 in total. http://www.newsmeat.com/billionaire_political_donations/Sam_Zell.php
If the Tribune company sells the Cubs as most Cubs fans want...there isn’t a chance in hell they would leave Chicago. The Cubs are a money making machine that would not make more anywhere else.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.