Today, there are reports that the far-right America destroyers, the Koch Brothers, are out to gobble up the Tribune Company-owned newspapers and possibly its TV Stations.
You though Rupert Murdoch was bad? Just wait till you meet the Kochtopus.
Think Progress Media:
The Koch brothers own Koch Industries, the second-largest private company in America, and bankroll a network of Tea Party groups and Republican political war chests.
In 2012, the brothers spent millions to defeat President Obama and even sent mailers to employees urging them to support Mitt Romney and other conservative candidates.
The Hollywood Reporter:
David and Charles Koch, billionaire industrialists who own Koch Industries, America's second-largest privately held company, have expressed interest in the Tribune Co. newspapers. The Chicago-based empire emerged from a long bankruptcy Dec. 31 and has hired investment firms Evercore and JPMorgan Chase as offers have come in for its print properties.
Tribune Co. spent more than four years in bankruptcy after being purchased by Sam Zell. Following the company's emergence from chapter 11, it named TV industry veteran Peter Liguori, formerly of Fox Entertainment and News Corp., as its CEO. Several Hollywood figures sit on its board of directors, including Ross Levinsohn, CEO of Guggenheim Digital Media, parent company of THR.
The Koch brothers have long dominated American industry; their holdings include Georgia Pacific paper products as well as major fertilizer, refinery and oil pipeline companies. More recently they have become known for their financial support of Republican candidates, especially those from the Tea Party, and the fight against regulations and legislation aimed at curbing climate change.
LA Weekly's Hillel Aron:
The latest rumor about the next owner of the L.A. Times, which is for sale, is a doozy. A bombshell. It's a doozy wrapped in a bombshell exploding inside a Drudge siren.
Multiple sources tell L.A. Weekly that Charles and David Koch -- the infamous right-wing billionaire brothers -- are considering an offer on either the Tribune Co. newspaper group, which includes the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun or the entire Tribune Co., which includes more than 20 stations like WGN and KTLA Channel 5.
The Koch Brothers are most famous for spending boatloads of money on Republican and libertarian political candidates and causes, favoring lower taxes, fewer regulations and weakening union influence.
It's hard to believe there's a chance that the liberal and Hollywood-adjacent Los Angeles Times might one day be owned by the Koch Brothers.
Tribune-owned papers:
English-language newspapers:
Burbank Leader, Burbank, California
Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, California
Glendale News-Press, Glendale, California
Huntington Beach Independent, Huntington Beach, California
Valley Sun, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Costline Pilot, Laguna Beach, California
Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California
Pasadena Sun, Pasadena, California
Hartford Courant, Hartford, Connecticut
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida
Chicago Tribune and
Redeye, Chicago, Illinois
Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, Maryland
The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Daily Press, Newport News, Virginia
Spanish-language newspapers:
Hoy, Los Angeles and Chicago
El Sentinel del Sur de la Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
El Sentinel, Orlando, Florida
Tribune-owned TV stations:Cable/Satellite/IPTV: WGN America
Tribune-owned radio stations:
WGN-AM 720, Chicago, Illinois (home of the Chicago Cubbies)
My tweet on how my home DMA (St. Louis)'s CW affiliate KPLR (which is the junior partner in an LMA agreement with Fox affiliate/Local TV-owned KTVI) could be taken over the by the evil Koch Brothers: