Posted on 01/16/2009 11:20:41 AM PST by seniorobserver
MINNEAPOLIS – Less than two years after it was bought by a private equity group, the Star Tribune has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "We determined that the filing was necessary to reduce our operating costs, restructure our debt and create a financially viable business for the future," Publisher and Chairman Chris Harte restructures. The filing came a week after the Star Tribune and the Newspaper Guild ended talks, saying they were unable to agree on management's request for concessions. "Obviously, I think it's unfortunate. It's not our decision, it's the company's, and we take very seriously the future of the newspaper," Graydon Royce, co-chairman for the Star Tribune's unit of the Guild, said of the bankruptcy filing. Royce added that Star Tribune employees are "very committed to keeping this institution alive." Union leaders said the bankruptcy filing, while expected, came as a surprise. "They did not give us prior notification that this was going to be filed today," Royce said. Unions representing more than 800 employees at the Star Tribune said in a statement that the unions have shown "the willingness of their members to make sacrifices to keep the democratic institution alive and well for future generations." "The unions at the Star Tribune are conscious of the newspaper's financial plight and the state of the industry nationwide," said Mike Bucsko, executive officer of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild and chairman of the Inter-Plant Council, the coalition of unions at Twin Cities newspapers. "Our members have a vested interest in making sure the newspaper remains the voice of the community for years to come." Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm, purchased the Star Tribune in 2007 for $530 million from The McClatchy Co. That was well below the $1.2 billion McClatchy paid for the MST in 1998.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Need newspaper bailouts, too important for technology get in their way. Pony up
Yes! Yesterday it was the Seattle PI(le) and today it’s the Red Star. They’re coming for YOU Slimes and comPost.
tWinko tWinko litto stah, how I loath just what you ah...
.
Up above us you’re so high, like a diamond in your eye...
.
Pinko Pinko litto stah, time ta end yur propagan daaaa.
.
.
.
And here’s to a swill futcha...
Zerobama and the loonie leftists running Congress can bail the newspapers out but that doesn’t mean I will buy their leftist newspapers.
The bailout of the New York Times and Pinch Sulzberger will be proposed within months, if not weeks. The administration needs to know what to think.
You will if you pay taxes.
Don’t forget how they lied about their circulation, then had to pay makeup money to their advertisers...
Not unlike Air America, provenance of Minnesota’s self-anointed next Senator.
And another one bites the dust..... another one bites the dust..... yeah yeah
Now THIS is very good news!!
As did the LA Times
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ...
whew ...
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
there , I feel better
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.