tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6318406227111514879.post6108919034786667356..comments2023-04-25T15:47:20.186-04:00Comments on Caterwauled: And the politicians are gleefulEd McKeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767520306585909279noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6318406227111514879.post-40244226217451001222009-02-27T19:15:00.000-05:002009-02-27T19:15:00.000-05:00Mike is right the debt added to buy other papers a...Mike is right the debt added to buy other papers and tv stations then the dropp-off and subs due to the internet and now the recesion or depresion will cause many more papers to stop the presses. The Chronicle in SF will probally be next.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6318406227111514879.post-9133646050226479052009-02-27T13:55:00.000-05:002009-02-27T13:55:00.000-05:00E.W. Scripps, the erstwhile owner of the RM News, ...E.W. Scripps, the erstwhile owner of the RM News, is a $2.5 billion media company that counts among its properties 19 newspapers, 10 TV stations, several cable networks, and the syndication company United Media. These are people who don't own newspapers because they love the rhythm of a good story or the smell of newsprint. For good or bad, they are business people.<BR/><BR/>All of the Scripps papers are bleeding serious ad revenue, and if it weren't for the $26 million they pulled in from political ads last year, the same would be true of its TV outlets. Throw in a little misguided management and now we're talking serious money.<BR/><BR/>RM News was their biggest paper, so it goes without saying it is their biggest looser - the paper dropped $16 million last year. Not unreasonable, then, that it's the one to take the hit.<BR/><BR/>The real question is, how did we get here? Thanks to the Friedman-esque leanings of our federal leaders (Dems and Repubs alike), we are paying the price for the assumption that the market is smart and self-adjusting. The 1997 Telecom Act paved the way for Scripps and others to build their empires. A federal act, by the way, that was brought to you by the very people who again hold in their handsthe economic reins of this country.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com