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Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
I'm posting this not only because it's news, but I think it's the beginning of the end for newspapers in general. With the internet, cable TV, & sports talk radio there is little need to buy a newspaper anymore. Anyone have thoughts, is this a thing of the times, a dying breed. I'd have to thing so, newspapers are fast becoming a dinosaur, and with advertising being down & Craigslist taking all their classifieds ads revenue away from them, they can't be making money at all.
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Inquirer owner files for bankruptcy protection
Philadelphia Newspapers, which also owns the Daily News, says the filing allows it to restructure debt load.
By Harold Brubaker
Inquirer Staff Writer
Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., which owns The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday in a bid to restructure its $390 million in debt load.
The company, bought by a group of Philadelphia-area investors for $562 million in 2006, said the voluntary Chapter 11 filing would not interrupt its daily operations.
"This restructuring is focused solely on our debt, not our operations," chief executive officer Brian P. Tierney, who led the group that provided about $150 million of the purchase price three years ago, said in a news release.
"Our operations are sound and profitable," said Tierney, referring to operating profits before interest and certain other costs.
The financial burden from an advertising downturn, rising costs for newsprint, and the migration of readers to the Internet caused Philadelphia Newspapers to fall out of compliance with its loan agreements last year. The same conditions have devastated the broadcast industry.
The company said it decided to turn to Bankruptcy Court after negotiating with its lenders for the last 11 months. During that time, the company was billed $13.4 million in penalty interest and fees.
It is not clear whether the current owners will retain a stake in the company if the debt is successfully restructured with the help of a bankruptcy judge. Ideally, a restructuring would reduce the amount of debt and lower the interest rate.
Citizens Bank is the agent for the senior lenders, who have included Angelo Gordon & Co., CIT Group Inc., and Wells Fargo & Co.
The Newspaper Guild, which represents newsroom and other employees of the company, alerted its members of the bankruptcy filing yesterday.
To fund operations during the restructuring, the company asked for court approval of $25 million in debtor-in-possession financing that was arranged by NewSpring Capital in Radnor.
The Philadelphia Newspapers filing follows last month's bankruptcy filing by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Journal Register Co., based in Yardley and the publisher of a number of local daily and weekly newspapers, filed for bankruptcy Saturday. Just last week, the publicly traded New York Times Co. suspended its dividend to cope with the economic downturn.
The Tribune Co., which was saddled with a massive $13 billion debt load when Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell bought it in 2007, filed for bankruptcy protection in December.
Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
I work for Tribune Co. Yes, it is the end of newspapers as we know them. They will survive but look different and serve different purposes. Tribune already is re-inventing itself with positive results. Many newspapers still make money, but if their debt is too high, they have to reorganize.
Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
Chicago Tribune? They have the benefit of being national papers though. Tribune, NY Times, Wall St Journal Washington Post etc have that luxury.
Just curious, how are they "re-working" do you mean going online? That's what philly.com is, the Inky's website. Pretty popular here, not sure how much revenue their ads get versus the papers though.
Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
Online, niche publications like RedEye or The Mash, which both appeal to young readers, or hyperlocal papers that serve specific communities: you CAN'T get that online. A lot is online. Facebook, Twitter, Digg, whatever, all leading back to our company's family of sites, whether they are standard web or mobile sites for phones. We're in a war and have been charged with changing, reinventing or we simply perish. I have a wife and 3 kids. I've chosen to fight.
Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
i havent bought a news paper in years....they are good to go get for free the next day to put under my cat's litter box though
How do you know what's going on in your community? Not your city or country, but your community?
Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
Neemo wrote:i havent bought a news paper in years....they are good to go get for free the next day to put under my cat's litter box though
How do you know what's going on in your community? Not your city or country, but your community?
I really don't care tbh
but i do watch the local news on tv every morning while i get ready for work....but the only thing i'm watching for is traffic conditions and whether or not my kid's school is cancelled for a snow day or something..and sports scores/trades for NFL or NHL .... thats it
Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
Really, you don't care where your local tax money goes? How your local officials are determining the value of the house you just bought? How much funding your kids' school is getting? How many people are being arrested in your neighborhood on child porn charges? How many sexual predators are arrested in your area? Where people are dealing in your area? Frankly I'm shocked as a fellow father and homeowner that these things don't interest you. Won't get it on TV or internet, but newspapers, the more local the better.
It's good to know what your PM is doing, but the decisions that really affect you are made on the local level.
Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
Neemo wrote:i havent bought a news paper in years....they are good to go get for free the next day to put under my cat's litter box though
How do you know what's going on in your community? Not your city or country, but your community?
Just curious is that their plan? Honestly, just playing devils advocate, if people aren't gonna pay $.50 cents to read about their city, they're not going to pay $.50 to read about their community. I'm just being honest. A big thing is not being in the habit of stopping off for a paper, so unless they're all delivered daily?! If it was free maybe, but even then I don't think circulation would be very high. People will read on the net when they get to work. Also, the logistics of how many employees you'd need (writers copy people) to make 10 papers per city is kinda going backwards. My neighborhood has a free monthly paper delivered called The Fallser due to the neighborhood name, East Falls. Yet at our Community Council meetings everybody gets their news from phillyblog.com.
No offense man, but look into going online in some capacity. I work in TV advertising & already the foresight is that's going to change because cable nets will begin delivering shows online & viewers will adapt & buy bigger, OLEM monitors. Ratings on local & cable tv will go down & eventually internet will become the TV provider (I'm not sure if & how local ads will be inserted, it may only be national ads).
Re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News file for Bankruptcy
that kinda stuff isnt in newspapers in canada....even if it was its one of the reasons why i dont follow the news too close...everythign is doom and gloom these days and i refuse to be led about by the nose in fear and distrust
as for where my tax money goes....it goes to schools, roads, healthcare, and government wallets...i dont need a paper to tell me that....
its not like i'm oblivious to local news events though...there is an arsenist hitting builders developing housing lately and there is a proposal for a new football stadium for the CFL (and to help secure a bid on the pan/am games)
do you guys down south of the border really have a section outlining the local drug deals and child molestors? quite sad dont ya think to always have that kinda stuff lodged in the back of your brain? seems everytime you would turn around you wouldnt be able to trust anything about anyone...that my freind is fear...terrorism if you will, not to be able to feel safe in your own country
