Media

The will to do better political journalism

Populist philosopher Will Rogers once said, “I’m not a member of any organized political party; I’m a Democrat.” This political season, though, it seems to be Republicans, not Democrats, feeding on their political young. Will’s likely turning in his grave in astonishment.

Will also said, “There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil.” But would Will think that journalists this political season are being all that accurate in their truth-telling? Amid all the political horserace hoopla, are Americans instead being fed a media diet laced with indigestible half-truths?

Media

Anschutz’s, Buffett’s influence on newly acquired papers remains to be seen

Billionaire Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has purchased the Omaha World-Herald Co., the parent company of his hometown newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald. The deal, announced Nov. 30, includes $150 million in cash as well as the assumption of $50 million of debt.

The move comes on the heels of an announcement that another Midwest newspaper, The Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, was acquired in October by the Anschutz Corp., owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz.

Media

Do Romney’s ties to Bain Capital add up to a conservative talk radio advantage?

By now, most observers of the Republican presidential primary race have heard of Mitt Romney’s ties to Bain Capital, the alternative asset management and financial services company he helped co-found in 1984.

What those same observers may not realize is that Romney’s financial stake in Bain Capital just might give him a decided advantage on the radio airwaves in his quest for the GOP nomination.

Media

GateHouse cuts copy editors, adds centralized production hub

Two announcements from GateHouse Media draw attention to the newest trend used by media corporations to cut costs and consolidate production. On Jan. 18 the Illinois Times, an online newspaper covering Springfield, Ill., reported about staff reductions at the Springfield Journal-Register. (story) To cut costs, the story reported the Journal-Register would lay off up to a dozen copy editors and page designers over the course of the summer, and that the Journal-Register would send its copy to a central publishing desk outside of Springfield.

On Feb. 8 the Rockford Register Star announced that Rockford would hire 60 or more staff to work the new central desk to be housed in Rockford. All GateHouse Media newspapers with circulations more than 5,000 will be sent to the hub in Rockford. Newspapers with circulations of less than 5,000 will be sent to a hub in Framingham, Mass.

Media

Lee Enterprises Uses Bankruptcy To Refinance

Lee Enterprises, the newspaper chain that owns 28 newspapers in the Gateway Journalism Review’s coverage area, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was in and out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy within two months in a move to restructure its huge debt.

The action was aimed at forcing six percent of Lee’s creditors to go along with “an overwhelming majority of lenders,” (94 percent) Lee said it had on board to extend loan deadlines to 2015 and 2017.

The refinancing, effective Jan. 30, means Lee escaped an April 2012 deadline but will have to pay higher interest rates on about $1 billion in debt. The combined interest rates jumped from 5.1 percent to to 9.2 percent. Some Lee creditors will wind up owning 13 percent of the company.