So, Rupert manages to subvert the media industry on both sides of the Atlantic, wears out his welcome on the other side -- barely keeping his greedy, cantankerous butt out of jail -- and to make amends he decides to double down by trying to buy even more newspapers, television stations and other media venues here in the U.S.? Frankly, I don't know which would be worse: more media outlets in the hands of an amoral tycoon armed with more money than God and plenty of newspaper experience -- or -- a dastardly duo armed with a far-right-wing agenda and more money than God with little or no experience in owning a media conglomerate. Truly a case of picking your poison.
Looks like the battle of the evildoers is ON, folks. On the line... television channels - in Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago(2), Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Houston, Seattle(2), South Florida, Denver, Sacramento, St. Louis, Portland, Indianapolis(2), San Diego, Hartford(2), Grand Rapids, Harrisburg, New Orleans(2) -- Newspapers - The L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Sun Sentinel(S.Fla), Orlando Sentinel, The Hartford Courant, The Morning Call, Daily Press and Red Eye(Chicago) -- Spanish-Language Newspapers - Hoy, El Sentinel(Orlando & South Florida) -- Classified Advertising - Classified Ventures, Career Builder, Apartments.com, Cars.com, For Sale by Owner.com, HomeFinder.com -- Magazines - Chicago Magazine -- Entertainment - MetroMix -- Subsidiaries - Tribune Media Services, Zap2It.com, Tribune Direct.
Courtesy of Tribune.com (Business Units and Websites)
Technically, together the Koch brothers do have more money to fight for this mega-deal. But you can't underestimate a virtually debt-free, deep-pocketed Aussie mogul looking to make up for losses sustained in Britain over the past few years. (not to mention saggy ratings @ Fox News Channel)
Atlantic Wire's got the story:
L.A. Weekly's Hillel Aron reports "multiple sources" claiming Charles and David Koch will offer to buy the Tribune Co. slate of papers — including the Times, the Trib, the Baltimore Sun, and five other papers — or maybe just offer to buy all of Tribune Co. outright. If the notoriously free-spending political heavyweights and brothers in industry choose to go for the whole company — and, importantly, if their offer is taken seriously and ends up bailing out the papers — their purchase would also include 20 television stations along with the eight papers. The Tribune Co. emerged from bankruptcy at the end of 2012 and has been looking to unload their newspaper holdings, apparently as part of a single-package deal, according to Bloomberg's Edmund Lee. Any buyer interested in Tribune's Co.'s newspapers will have to cough up a cool $600 million to acquire the whole lot — not exactly a lot to the Koch brothers, who spent untold hundreds of millions on the 2012 election... and weren't too pleased with their return on investment.
Murdoch has reportedly had his eye on both the L.A. Times and Chicago Tribune for months now. The media mogul apparently "covets" The Times as a cornerstone to his conglomerate of over 175 newspapers. Reports of his interest in acquiring the duo of big city rags date back to last June, at one time, showing interest in The Times in particular later on in October.
The L.A. Times itself was the source for one of the reports with the other coming from Murdoch's
Wall Street Journal.
Interesting side note from L.A. Weekly that could signal a ratcheting-up of the haggling process:
Two weeks ago, Tribune Co. hired Evercore and JP Morgan as financial advisors to vet potential bidders.
This is not a good time for media, apparently for venues old and new. From print newspapers to television networks to websites, and even your local friendly pennysaver, the time may soon come that media slathered with conservative drivel will be the only available news outlets for great swaths of the country -- whether you want them or not. This outcome would certainly put undue pressure on progressive and independent news outlets online to consolidate as well. We'll need to double our monetary support for websites like
Mother Jones,
AlterNet,
Think Progress, and major blogs like
Wonkette,
Democratic Underground and others, including our own
Orange Satan just to keep 'em going as an alternative to teh CrAzY.
Buckle up, folks. We're about to enter The Twilight Zone Bizarro World.