Michelle Malkin » Hey, conservative billionaires, wanna buy a newspaper?; Update: Cash-strapped NYT borrows against building

Hey, conservative billionaires, wanna buy a newspaper?; Update: Cash-strapped NYT borrows against building

By Michelle Malkin • December 8, 2008 09:07 AM

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Newspaper companies are in crisis. Layoffs. Possible closures. Some are calling for a newspaper bailout.

Investors have noticed. The market capitalization of the McClatchy Corporation — owner of 30 daily newspapers, including the Miami Herald — is less than $200 million. The market cap of A.H. Belo — owner of The Dallas Morning News, The Providence Journal and The Press-Enterprise — is $41 million.

The long-term problems plaguing the industry are well-known. Fewer eyeballs. Declining classified ad revenue. Few see a path to profitability.

Despite their serious and persistent business problems, however, newspapers still have considerable clout, especially in local and state politics. Imagine replacing liberal editors at your local rag with conservative ones. Wouldn’t it be nice if for once your local paper cast a critical eye on local recycling programs and what your kids are being taught in school?

For wealthy conservative activist/philanthropists, there may be no more cost-effective way to gain political influence than by buying up local newspapers at distressed prices. Think of the opportunity to modernize these dinosaurs and snatch up mainstream media bargains in important swing states like Colorado and Florida.

So, all you conservative billionaires out there: Step up. An opportunity like this one won’t come again.

***

Heh. Babalu Blog writes the Miami Herald’s for sale ad.

***

Update: Times Co. to borrow against building

The New York Times Company plans to borrow up to $225 million against its mid-Manhattan headquarters building, to ease a potential cash flow squeeze as the company grapples with tighter credit and shrinking profits.

The company has retained Cushman & Wakefield, the real estate firm, to act as its agent to secure financing, either in the form of a mortgage or a sale-leaseback arrangement, said James Follo, the Times Company’s chief financial officer.

The Times Company owns 58 percent of the 52-story, 1.5 million-square-foot tower on Eighth Avenue, which was designed by the architect Renzo Piano, and completed last year. The developer Forest City Ratner owns the rest of the building. The Times Company’s portion of the building is not currently mortgaged, and some investors have complained that the company has too much of its capital tied up in that real estate.

The company has two revolving lines of credit, each with a ceiling of $400 million, roughly the amount outstanding on the two combined. One of those lines is set to expire in May, and finding a replacement would be difficult given the economic climate and the company’s worsening finances. Analysts have said for months that selling or borrowing against assets would be the company’s best option for averting a cash flow problem next year.

Posted in: Media Bias

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#565247

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:18 am, Frank DiGiorgio said:

Are there any Conservative Billionaires out there? It seems that all the billoinaires I know of are liberal.
#565255

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:27 am, tre said:

The only Conservative billionaire of which I know is Mart Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby stores and Mardel’s Christian Bookstores. So I doubt he would be interested in newspapers.

My wife and I have been thinking of something to sell on e-Bay, so hopefully we can get so rich that I’ll hire Bill Gates to wash my fleet of gas-guzzling SUV’s.
#565257

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:29 am, sonofdy said:

How about NO?? Newspapers are going the way of the dinosaurs.
#565258

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:29 am, ohioTom said:

I’d love to see that. My rag the Dayton Daily News is so smug and Democrat-leaning. I know they are hurtin’ though not out of business yet.

If they went with a Conservative mgmt with some investigative series like Michelle suggests, I might even start subscribing for a full week rather than the weekend-only subscription I’ve been keeping!
#565261

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:34 am, PKAmmoTroop said:

I didn’t realize there were any conservative billionaires left. This would be a great idea though, I remember finding one conservative paper in my travels, and it was a delight to read; it was also the last print paper I ever subscribed to.
#565271

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:44 am, ohioTom said:

When I lived there, the Richmond-Times (VA) was pretty conservative. The ONLY such paper, I’d ever read.
#565274

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:47 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

Conservative billionaires or a couple dozen paperboys. Come January 1 our local paper, East Valley Tribune, is cutting back to 4 days a week-free- yet they are still selling yearly subscriptions.

Now where will I get coupons for stuff I do not need?
#565281

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:53 am, Just A Grunt said:

A conservative investor from Alabama has slowly been buying up the New York Times and is now the second largest holder of the Times stock. So keep an eye out and if you hear of the Sulzenbergers facing more financial difficulties maybe this guy will buy it up.
#565292

On December 8th, 2008 at 10:02 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

So, all you conservative billionaires out there: Step up.

I’m not a billionaire yet, but this is an excellent example of why conservatives (including conservative Christians) need to be wealthy.

It’s not about you and what you can do for yourself with the money.
It’s about what you can do to spread the truth using that money.

Money in the hands of good people can do a lot of good things to help other people.

Every good ministry I know of could do even more good if they had more financial resources.

Even those who believe that it is Godly to take a vow of poverty could make a lot of money and give it all away.
#565305

On December 8th, 2008 at 10:18 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

Just A Grunt said
Sulzenbergers facing more financial difficulties

Let us take up a collection and buy the lad a hot dog stand and send him to Coney Island.
#565312

On December 8th, 2008 at 10:24 am, jangar said:

The Times Company’s portion of the building is not currently mortgaged, and some investors have complained that the company has too much of its capital tied up in that real estate.

So…(in this case) the sanctuary is more important than the gospel? Ivory towers…
#565436

On December 8th, 2008 at 11:51 am, cheapseat said:

just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are damn few liberals in bad economic times. obama has turned right, and i’ll bet several news outlets will also in order to save themselves. fox news isn’t hurting yet, and both cnn and msnbc have noted that situation. i suppose several southern rags will see the light soon.
#565476

On December 8th, 2008 at 12:16 pm, Bicyea said:

Tribune Co. consults bankruptcy advisers
#565486

On December 8th, 2008 at 12:22 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

All is not lost:

McDonald’s global same-store sales rise 7.7 percent in November, US sales rise 4.5 percent.

I prefer Burger King but good news is good news. But if the NYT DOES go under what WILL the sissy boys read at Star Bucks? (I like Star Bucks-I listen to Rush while there )
#565580

On December 8th, 2008 at 1:31 pm, pabarge said:

Dang, I thought no banks were lending. Now you tell us that the NYTimes is getting a line of credit?

Where’s the justice in that?
#565587

On December 8th, 2008 at 1:37 pm, dan708 said:

On December 8th, 2008 at 1:31 pm, pabarge said:
Dang, I thought no banks were lending. Now you tell us that the NYTimes is getting a line of credit?

Where’s the justice in that?

This just proves that subprime mortgages aren’t dead, yet!
#565692

On December 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pm, tre said:

I’m gonna start saving some money. When they go belly-up, I’ll buy their office building from the bank and donate it to the Salvation Army for use as a homeless shelter.
#565746

On December 8th, 2008 at 3:09 pm, dan708 said:

I just saw a headline on the website of a Philly radio station – Tribune Co is filing for bankruptcy.
Here’s a link-
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081208/ap_on_bi_ge/tribune
#565786

On December 8th, 2008 at 3:36 pm, JEM said:

Those who think it’s a good idea for conservative ownership to pick up, say, the NY Times –

Please give me, in three paragraphs, a reasonable business case for how a conservative fishwrap is going to make money where a leftist birdcage-liner couldn’t?

I think it’d be great to see Pinch and his pinchlings pitchforked onto the sidewalk, and it’s apparent that Sam Zell’s hands-off-the-newsroom approach with LAT et al hasn’t helped make money, but “conservative billionaires” didn’t get to be billionaires by throwing money at vanity projects.

Sure, it’d be fun to buy the NY Times just for the privilege personally to frogmarch some of their more egregious idiots out the door, but after you’ve swept out the stable, plopped down in the corner office and had that celebratory drink, what happens next?
#565838

On December 8th, 2008 at 4:00 pm, Lucifer Jones said:

Rupert Murdoch should buy it.
#565966

On December 8th, 2008 at 6:03 pm, Frank DiGiorgio said:

… but after you’ve swept out the stable, plopped down in the corner office and had that celebratory drink, what happens next?

You hire news reporters who report facts and not “journalists” who report what they think you should know.

It used to be that news reporting was an honest trade. Now it’s a corrupt profession called journalism.
#566103

On December 8th, 2008 at 9:31 pm, keystone said:

Ahhh, Karma!
#566202

On December 8th, 2008 at 11:53 pm, chsw said:

All of these newspapers might be saved if they go web-only, thereby saving trees, as well as eliminating power-consuming presses, gas-eating delivery vehicles, and petroleum-based inks. And if they go conservative as well, then the greenies will be so emotionally conflicted that they’ll soil themselves en masse.

chsw, standing upwind
#566216

On December 9th, 2008 at 12:24 am, vatodio said:

Hey,

I am conservative.
I am interested in buying NYT!

I have $25 available for the down payment.
For the rest of the money, NYT will have to carry a secondary note…
#566262

On December 9th, 2008 at 3:14 am, BobonStatenIsland said:

The NYT will start printing the paper on their own stock certificates soon to save money.