KANSAS CITY STAR PARENT COMPANY McCLATCHY SOLD TO HEDGE FUND CHATHAM ASSET MANAGEMENT!!! EXPECT MORE 'JOURNALISM' CUTS!!!



Financial news trumps the ongoing political conversation today as we are once again reminded that dead-tree media is going the way of the dodo.

To wit . . .

NEW HEDGE FUND BOSSES FOR THE KANSAS CITY STAR SIGNAL MORE JOB CUTS AT THE EMBATTLED NEWSPAPER!!!

We've seen a few far-too-wordy takes on this financial move that offer fake insight and flowery prose about the future of "journalism" which isn't nearly as important as getting a lot of likes & shares on the app du jour.

Here's the important mindset change that locals should understand . . .

New hedge fund owners will do their best to maximize profit and strip every asset from the newspaper chain in order to benefit shareholders. This isn't good or bad news, it's reality and something demanded of every profitable business.

Meanwhile, we expect a welcomed management purge and newer employees flocking to the paper not because of more opportunity but because rookies work cheap and they're easily replaceable.

A worthwhile comment from a reader whom we respect a great deal:

"A hedge fund owning the city’s daily newspaper is the worst scenario possible. Hedge funds squeeze the blood out of newspapers by slashing staff beyond the unimaginable. No hedge fund owning newspapers has yet demonstrated one iota of care about journalism. Your term “Dead Tree Media” will be a compliment six months from now."

Most people forget that newspapers are a business.

Meanwhile, the term "journalism" is often a distinction offered only to reports that inspire agreement among the political elite.

But here's the rub: So many non-profit efforts to sustain local journalism represent nothing more than ponzi schemes or fundraising gambits that don't have much impact or influence over policy or the local discourse. Partisan reporting and think tank produced talking points have always been part of the American discourse and they've NEVER held much sway because that style of coverage is the opposite of journalism. At the very least, reporters and pundits work to craft objective analysis or at least craft work that's much entertaining than political hacks. Nonprofits are incapable of consistently moving the political dial given the constraints and whims of donors who simply want to pay for the transcription of their agenda that seldom benefits the majority of the public.

Even worse, the social media revolution has taught the world that most people would rather "read" and scroll through social media in order to spy on frenemies, witness phony content from celebrities and enjoy pet vidoes rather than learn and understand more about public policy and local reporting. 

Check the links:

The Hill: Hedge fund wins auction for bankrupt McClatchy newspaper chain

Fox Biz: Auction ends 163 years of family ownership for the newspaper chain

Reuters: McClatchy had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, burdened by heavy debt it took on when it bought newspaper chain Knight Ridder in 2006 and large pension obligations that eat into its profits.

UST: Newspaper chain McClatchy announces Chatham Asset Management is successful bidder in bankruptcy auction

MarketWatch: Hedge fund that owns National Enquirer to buy newspaper publisher McClatchy

Developing . . .

Comments

  1. The star was fun while it lasted.

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    1. ^^^ It'll still be around. We need some way to collect coupons.

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    2. ^^^ Actually, most stores have buyer rewards programs and there are apps that offer better discounts than the paper. Weird.

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  2. What's a newspaper?

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  3. North Korea is looking for some Journalistia'.

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  4. They will sell everything off individually and make as much money as they can and then no more paper. Employees first to go, those who stay until the end will probably get their benefits cut.

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  5. "No hedge fund owning newspapers has yet demonstrated one iota of care about journalism." The same has been true of media corporations that own newspapers. So no change.

    Assuming the Star survives at all, it is to be hoped that its new owner will try to make it appeal to its entire potential customer base, and not just the left side.

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  6. look for pension cuts as well. Pennies on the dollar.

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  7. All the internet fake news will replace it.

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  8. But, but, my birdcage papers??????????

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  9. Gee, "bankrupting yourself out of bankruptcy" hasn't worked out too well for Corporate America in Trump's Economy, has it?

    Don't worry McClatchy, it's Obama's fault!

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  10. If the hedge fund paid more than $5 at the auction they grossly overpaid.

    The Hedge Fund will lay-off the employees, dump the pension plan on the government, and sell the real estate holdings for their profit on the acquisition.

    Hoping the Red Star employees see their pension benefits cut in half so they can enjoy the Marxist life-style they desire upon America.

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  11. What I do not understand is why anyone would pour good money down the shitter that is the KC Star? It is a losing proposition and back when I went to business school the theory was to run a business to make money. Maybe they can have a demonstration to explain it to me.

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    1. The main business is as a printer for practical every small town paper within delivery range. That's the money at the Star "printing".

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  12. 5:31 They take over the assets as well, which have a resale value in and of themselves. Plus full license to axe the overpaid clowns running the paper and reimagine it into whatever they want with the "brand" name. Could be an entirely different soul with the same bones so to speak. Lots of options if you can take on whatever losses are predicted to occur early on. Zero emotional ties to the current construction, so they'll chop and reconfigure while the liberal elite write whiny op-eds about the nature of reality.

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  13. Bandit Darville7/12/20, 5:43 PM

    Good riddance! I tried lining my bird cage with the KC Scar once but they wouldn't crap on it because they thought it was redundant.

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  14. ^^^ Agree.

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  15. McClatchy should punch his advisors from well over ten years ago in the nose.

    What is the world is a "reverse stock split"?

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  16. Will Billy Tammy's pension payments be cut?

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  17. scorched earth

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  18. Chop it up, pillage any value, make company pay you back for buying it then to bankruptcy court.

    The sweet goodbye to a once proud journalist paper turned depraved lackey propaganda arm of the insane DNC and globalist cabal.

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  19. the big-money DNc ought to buy up the Star..

    it reads just like a typical Democrat political flier anyway...

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  20. the only way to win an auction for McClatchy is to be outbid.

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  21. Your taxpayer dollars will now be used to help fund partial pension payments to former staffers at the Star through the federal pension benefit guarantee program. Isn't it great that if Sleepy Joe wins in November our net pay will drop even more to fund social wet dreams from AOC and other nutjobs?

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  22. This will not result in any journalism cuts. It will result in Leftist proponga cuts. It’s the piece of shit Star.

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  23. Off topic somewhat but what if the debt that was obtained with the takeover is sold to someone in China for example. How does the Chinese guy make money with debt?

    This will probably end up in Tony's burn pile before a reply but oh well - there's always wiki pages.

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    Replies
    1. Laundry Chinese mob money.

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  24. But what is going to happen to Dave and Toriano and the rest of the editorial board? Sure going to miss their racist drivel.

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  25. You know what would have been cool, Tony? If this screed had made ANY FUCKING SENSE WHATSOEVER.

    First, Chatham is not a given. Second, management isn't going anywhere. Third, the whole chain damn near became a non-profit, and if you'd been paying attention you'd have known that. Fourth, social media is for fucking morons.

    "What's a newspaper?" somebody asked? Well, it's something intelligent people used to read, but most intelligent people have been replaced with mouth-breathing morons such as yourself; welcome to America 2020.

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  26. ^^^You too can breathe through your mouth! Remove your lips from somebody's dick and try it! Then you can go right back to what you were doing. Do you swallow or spit?

    ReplyDelete

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