The Monterey (CA) Weekly on March 23, 2006 printed this photo which might become an archive classic along with a reprint of a long summary from the American Journalism Review. The headline on the article used the words we first came up with for an earlier post.
Sherman’s March
How Naples, Florida money manager Bruce S. Sherman muscled Knight Ridder—the nation’s second-largest newspaper company—into putting itself up for sale.
Click here to see the full reprint or go to the AJR site.
There also was a great illustration in the New York Times recently which showed a folded newspaper obituary page with the words “RIDDER KNIGHT’ printed atop the column to mark the end of the newspaper chain.
The best quote comes from a piece by Austin, Texas, columnist Molly Ivins who occasionally sneaks onto the BJ commentary page. Here’s the quote:
AUSTIN, Texas—I don’t so much mind that newspapers are dying—it’s watching them commit suicide that pisses me off.
And Molly continues:
“Let’s use this as a handy exercise in journalism. What is the unexamined assumption here? That the newspaper business is dying. Is it? In 2005, publicly traded U.S. newspaper publishers reported operating profit margins of 19.2%, down from 21% in 2004, according to The Wall Street Journal. That ain’t chopped liver—it’s more than double the average operating profit margin of the Fortune 500.
“So who thinks newspapers are dying? Newspaper analysts on Wall Street. In fact, the fine folks on Wall Street just forced the sale of Knight Ridder Inc. to McClatchy Co., a chain one-third KR’s size. McClatchy’s CEO, Gary Pruitt, pointed out in an Op-Ed piece that investors are so chicken that his company picked up KR for a song. (Actually, he said no such thing—he was far more dignified. But that’s what it comes down to.) So if newspapers are so ridiculously profitable, how come there’s panic on Wall Street about them? Because we’re losing circulation—2% in 2004, and down 13% from a 1985 peak, says the Newspaper Association of America. “
To read all of Molly’s article which appears on a blog called TruthDig, click here.
And, finally, the headline from the New York Daily News:
Lots of lettuce on line in grocer's split
Billionaire supermarket magnate Ron Burkle's divorce battle with his wife, Janet, has exposed his staggering wealth as well as her close relationship with an ex-con, the story says..
Last year, the 51-year-old entrepreneur pumped $100 million into the Sean John clothing empire run by his pal Sean (P. Diddy) Combs. A Democratic stalwart, Burkle loaned two of his six houses to Sen. John Kerry last spring for star-packed fund-raisers, and Bill Clinton sits on the board of Burkle's Yucaipa Co. Among his other buddies are Michael Jackson, Jesse Jackson and Bono.
"During the last 20 years of our 28-year marriage, my husband and I lived among the most lavish of American lifestyles," Janet says in papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Their monthly spending, she estimates, was $1.4 million.
Crying poor, Janet Burkle has told friends she might have to work the checkout counter of one of Ron's supermarkets.
But according to Ron Burkle, "She has more than anyone needs to live on in Beverly Hills."
Meanwhile, the Burkles have been tussling over their 12-year-old son.
Ron Burkle wants the boy kept away from Charles Allen, a personal trainer Ron says Janet has been dating. His court papers allege that Allen pled guilty to attempted murder as part of a drug deal.
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