This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed.
TAKEAWAY: So newspapers are becoming hot commodities in the market, in spite of all the bad press they get as bad business these days,. This is good news for an industry that cen certainly use some good news.
Something to cheer about
Some items in the media news circuit cheer us up these days.
First, an item about the return of media barons. Well, guys, welcome back.
The article mentions such recent newspaper acquisitions as that of The Omaha World-Herald at the end of last year by Warren E. Buffett .
Also, The Portland Press Herald in Maine, where
Donald Sussman, a hedge fund manager and philanthropist, bought a stake in the company that owns Press Herald.
But the one that made me particularly happy:
Last week a group of very rich, very influential Philadelphia businessmen — including George E. Norcross III, a Democratic power broker in Southern New Jersey, and Lewis Katz, the parking magnate — bought the Philadelphia Media Network, which owns The Inquirer, The Daily News and Philly.com.
As readers of this blog know, The Philadelphia Inquirer is dear to me, and I am hoping the new owners give it a chance to grow and to continue to be the influential, quality newspaper that makes it rank among America’s best.
The fact that the new owners are bringing back Bill Marimow, formerly a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at The Inquirer, is fantastic news, indeed.
Newspapers are hot properties?
Second, and related to the item above, I am thrilled to read that, in spite of what so many pessimists say, buyers with deep pockets are interested in newspaper properties.
And, writes John Morton :
“Today newspapers are far less valuable — by half or more — yet sellers and buyers are once again finding each other in great numbers.”
Could it be that they have heard that people, and, indeed, young people, are spending more time consuming news? And newspapers continue to be the main source of news, reporting it, editing it and dispensing it. I continue to see that when one of these barons buys a newspaper, he/she is buying into a news /information operation. The demand for information has never been greater, nor the time spent consuming it.
It makes sense.
If I were in a position to do so, I, too, would purchase a newspaper, perhaps a regional daily or group of dailies, with good reputations for solid local reporting. I would also make sure that all platforms were represented, with a strong mobile telephone representation.
