Posted on 01/27/2009 8:56:18 AM PST by grace522
It is no secret the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News have severe financial difficulties.
The parent company of both newspapers, Philadelphia Media Holdings, has missed its debt payments since June, and according to Bloomberg News, the company is in “technical default” on its loans.
The papers were bought from the McClatchy Company in 2006 for $562 million. There are currently no buyers, especially given the recent volatility experienced by media entities nationwide. Making the situation even more precarious is that, even if there were a prospective buyer, obtaining financing in these market conditions is difficult, if not impossible.
The Tribune Company, owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, has filed for bankruptcy protection, as has the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The Rocky Mountain News, strapped with large debts, could be permanently closing its doors, while the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has announced it will cease publication. The competing Seattle Times also is in danger of closure.
And The New York Times, because of its need to ease cash flow problems, is borrowing $225 million against its Manhattan headquarters via a sale-leaseback deal. Additionally, the Times borrowed $250 million from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, at a 14 percent interest rate. Mr. Slim will eventually become the largest single shareholder in the Times, owning up to 17 percent of common shares in the company.
After it was reported that Inquirer publisher Brian Tierney has been engaged in discussions with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, D, about obtaining a $10 million government bailout for his newspaper, the Bulletin spoke with Chuck Ardo, the governor’s press secretary, for clarification.
The Bulletin: It has been reported that Inquirer publisher Brian Tierney has approached Gov. Rendell for a $10 million bailout for the newspaper.
Did that conversation take place?
Chuck Ardo: The governor and Brian Tierney have had a number of conversations over the course of the last several months. The governor has made no commitment as a result of those conversations.
TB: Is the bailout something that is still on the table?
CA: He would certainly be open to discussions with Brian, but we need to look at the situation that we are in economically and financially, and I think any discussions have to be seen through that prism.
TB: If the governor were to say, “Sure, we’ll do it,” from where would the money come?
CA: If the governor was persuaded to the wisdom of helping Philadelphia Media Holdings, the money could come from a number of revenue streams. It’s hard to say, and would depend on what kind of help they would need.
TB: Would that require legislative approval, or would it come from the executive branch?
CA: There are ways that the executive branch can do this without need for legislative action.
TB: Would the money be a grant or a loan?
CA: It would depend on what the discussions might lead to. But as of now, no commitment has been made at this point.
TB: It’s one thing when the government becomes involved in car companies and banks, but how do you think the public would react to a media company seeking and receiving government bailout money from Gov. Rendell? Can it truly be viewed as objective and unbiased in its political reporting?
CA: The entire concept of a democracy depends on an informed public. Newspapers are a critical source of information, so there is a fundamental need for newspapers to continue to provide that information to the public. Now whether that information rises to the level of triggering help from the commonwealth, is something we’ll have to wait for the future to unfold. “
Chris Freind can be reached at cf@thebulletin.us
Yep, you nailed it, PRAVDA ...
SHREWD!
Given how the government is trying to attach strings to the auto bailout and the banking bailout, how could the government put requirements on a press bailout if the press is supposed to be free, and a watchdog of government?
-PJ
Aren’t these new owners conservative? Personally, I don’t care what they are. NO government bailout!!!
LOL!
poor Bruce Toll thought he had money to burn.
It’s looking like we are going to have to have a major march on DC. They are bailing everyone out with our money against the wishes of the majority of the American people.
Exactly, it’s not my fault nobody reads these crappy newspapers.
LOL
No government bailout for any media organization!!
Hmph. If I'd missed MY debt payments since last JUNE, I wouldn't be in "technical default" - I'd be in bankruptcy.
If papers like this, the NYT, LAT, and others weren’t in a constant state of impartiality default, they might have a healthier bottom line.
Rangel even voted against his own draft bill.
This explains the Front Page lewinsky the Inquirer gave Rendell about how Fast Eddie was better at selling state jets than Palin.
Gov. Rendell’s decision saved Pa. taxpayers money.
Posted on Tue, Sep. 9, 2008
Alaska, here’s how to sell a plane
Rendell, unlike Palin, shuns eBay.
By Mario F. Cattabiani
Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG - Maybe Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin should take a lesson from the Rendell administration on how to sell a state airplane.
Pennsylvania is preparing to turn over the keys to one of its two executive planes to an Illinois company that has agreed to buy it for $1.375 million – above its appraised value and several hundred thousand more than the state paid for it 16 years ago.
Palin, the governor of Alaska, tried to win points as a reformer by declaring at last week’s GOP convention that upon taking office, she put her state’s jet on eBay. Turns out, she did just that, but in the end, it was sold through a broker for $2.1 million - less than the $2.7 million that Alaskan taxpayers paid for it under a past administration.
“It just goes to prove that a high-flying but inexperienced politician is no match for a down-to-earth professional when it comes to selling state planes,” said Chuck Ardo, Gov. Rendell’s press secretary.
Unlike Palin, state officials in Harrisburg chose not to bother with the online auction route after Rendell decided in April to sell the plane, a 1981 Beech King Air 200, in a cost-cutting move.
The state wanted to avoid eBay’s commission - upward of 2 ½ percent of the sale price - so it instead advertised the plane on two aeronautical Web sites. The total cost: less than $700. It drew four bids, with the highest coming from Midwest Underground Inc., an East Moline, Ill. pipeline contractor.
Michael D. Murphy, a consultant for Midwest Underground, said the company was willing to pay a little more for the twin engine turboprop than similar ones on the market because the state had kept it in good condition.
“It’s common sense that you wouldn’t expect the governor to fly in anything that wasn’t maintained well,” he added.
Still, the sale is pending scheduled repairs that the state plans to make soon, including a set of new brakes, said Edward Myslewicz, press secretary for the Department of General Services, which handled the sale.
The state purchased the seven-seat plane in 1992 for slightly more than $1 million. There are no plans to unload the state’s other plane, a nine-seat 1999 Beechcraft King Air 350.
Rendell and other state officials use the aircraft periodically when state duties in different parts of Pennsylvania require the flexibility of non-commercial air travel.
Bottom line is that the plane had significant improvement and recent engine overhauls, so it was worth more than the original purchase price.
Now a real reporter, an honest reporter would have research how much the plane was worth with the improvements before letting Fast Eddie make the false claim.
Truth be known, Rendell sold it because it didn’t hold enough cheese steaks...
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