Economics: Newspapers: The great newspapers have been family-owned, even with outside shareholders, and selling them is dicey for those families

CSM analyzes the hybrid nature of the family-owned great newspapers and why shareholding, owning, buying and selling them is problematic. Ron Scherer can't quite put his finger on it, but he knows he's onto something about the quasi-biz of the (family-owned) newspaper business. Scherer's mind seems to be a theory-free zone, but had he the wherewithal to understand "nature" in this case in terms of philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd's concept of internal structural principles, as these differ from sphere to sphere of society, Mr Scherer may have been able to understand the hybrization of the family and civic -asset enterprise more clearly. Nevertheless to his credit in this day and age, reporter Scherer does have the necessary raw idea well in hand. He explains how the family-side of the hybrid affects the kinds of stocks investors may hold in the New York Times, the kinds being divided between those owned by family members and those bawt and sold on the market more generally. The latter are purchased with full knowledge4 that those shareholders do not have voting r+ts on all issues leading personnel and editorial policy of the newspaper.

One other great newspaper, Chicago-Tribune and its affiliates thru a holding company, which owns the entire ensemble and is a publically-listed enterprise on the stock market, Tribune Company, constitutes the premier case which casts further lite dramatically on America's most influential daily-print news media. The Tribuene chain is the 34d-largest of the newspaper-based empires in the USA. Founded by Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the paper anchored the expansion of the holding company to ownership of several prestigious dailies--Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, and Baltimore Sun among them. It also owned 26 radio and television stations, and a baseball team, the Chicago Cubs.

Apr2,2k7: Associated Press via Pantagraph.com, by Ashley M. Heher>, "Tribune accepts $8.2B buyout; company to sell Chicago Cubs."

Economy > USA > Newspapers

Apr3,2k7: Washington Post, by Frank Ahrens, "Chicago Magnate To Control Tribune--Media Firm to Go Private in $13 Billion Deal" (Apr3,2k7)


Apr23,2k: Reuters via Bnet, "Chicago Tribune Aims to Cut 100 Jobs."

Apr24,2k7: Associated Press via Kevin post, Benton Foundation, "Regulators OK 1st step of Tribune buyout."

Apr30.,2k7: Los Angeles Times, by Julie Johnsson and Michael Oneal, "Some Tribune leaders forgo bonuses linked to buyout
However, experts point to other rich incentives for executives to stay."

May9,2k7: Associated Press via Houston Chronicle, "Ahead of the Bell: Tribune Meeting."

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In other developments pertaining to Chicago newspapers, Chicago Sun-Times has regained several millions of dollars purloined by a confessed thief, the paper's former publisher.

unsigned Sun-Times story, "Sun-Times cuts its loss" (May9,2k7)

The parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times narrowed its first-quarter loss, thanks to a settlement with former publisher David Radler that recovered $27.6 million in revenue.

Sun-Times Media Group Inc. posted a net loss of $4.8 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of $7.8 million, or 9 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.

The newspaper chain also reduced its operating loss to $4.8 million from $26.6 million, reflecting Radler's repayment of money that should have been recorded by the Sun-Times in previous years but which he diverted to his own use. Radler is testifying this week for the prosecution in a criminal trial charging his former boss, Conrad Black, and three others with helping to steal about $84 million from the Sun-Times.

First-quarter operating revenue fell 11 percent to $91.3 million, mirroring an 11 percent drop in advertising revenue at the Sun-Times and 100 community newspapers. However, online advertising rose by $1.1 million.

Circulation revenue fell 7 percent to $19.6 million.

"The newspaper environment clearly remains difficult," said CEO Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. "Nevertheless, we continue to believe in the vitality of the Sun-Times franchise and its employees. Initial response from readers and advertisers to the design and content changes introduced last month at the Chicago Sun-Times has been positive."

One thing for sure, Chicago is in a quite volatile situation as far as print-daily mass communications are concerned. It appears that it's easy for newspapers to lose money all over the place, either to a crook or to the vagaries of holding companies that have lost contact with the civic-asset aspect of publishing which comes to the fore in America's greatest newspapers owned by doting families.