* Rumors are apparently flying that the Koch brothers are interested in buying Tribune Co.…
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.
So, you think those Trib editorials are harsh now? It’ll be Colonel McCormick all over again.
* The Koch brothers responded to the LA Weekly piece…
“As an entrepreneurial company with 60,000 employees around the world, we are constantly exploring profitable opportunities in many industries and sectors. So, it is natural that our name would come up in connection with this rumor. We respect the independence of the journalistic institutions referenced in today’s news stories, but it is our long-standing policy not to comment on deals or rumors of deals we may or may not be exploring. “
* The Sun-Times may also be in the hunt…
Wrapports LLC, owner of the Chicago Sun-Times, is exploring opportunities for expansion, including considering a purchase of Tribune Co. assets, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans.
Chicago-based Wrapports, led by Chairman Michael Ferro, has engaged New York investment bank Allen & Co. Inc. specifically to explore a purchase of assets of Chicago-based Tribune
* Other possible buyers include Rupert Murdoch…
Others who have said they’d be interested in buying Tribune holdings include News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch — who owned the Sun Times in the 1980s — as well as Freedom Communications CEO Aaron Kushner, owner of the Orange County Register based in Santa Ana, Calif., and San Diego Union-Tribune owner Douglas Manchester.
Click here for a bit of Murdoch history by Roger Ebert.
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- I don't want to live in Teabagistan - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:01 am:
“we are constantly exploring profitable opportunities”
Seems clear they wouldn’t buy a newspaper.
- Phil - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:06 am:
I thought the idea of Murdoch buying the Trib was bad enough. Might welcome that now, though, if the Koch Brothers are considering buying the paper.
- Ray Midge - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:07 am:
Col. McCormick would be happy.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:08 am:
Koch Bros….Murdoch….and death is not an option. oh my.
- Small Town Liberal - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:09 am:
Sounds good to me, with any luck they’ll drive readership down to the point that the trib becomes completely irrelevant.
- John Parnell - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:09 am:
Warren Buffet got into the newspaper ownership business, so the Koch brothers are following him. Nice to be a billionaire.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:10 am:
The fits this would give some folks would be worth the entertainment value…
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:10 am:
Not sure if the edit board could bend to the Koch Bros more liberal views.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:11 am:
Also the TV and Radio may be the asset they are more interested in.
- Joe M - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:14 am:
A logical match. The Koch brothers and the Tribune seem to think alike.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:29 am:
Pepsi, no Koch!
- Aldyth - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:32 am:
Rather like becoming the print arm of Fox News.
- Skeeter - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:33 am:
Are they going to get rid of Phil Vettel? Provide less coverage of the Bears?
If not, I don’t care. The Trib does a pretty lousy job of covering City Hall, and a less than adequate job of covering Springfield. Other than for food and the Bears, I pretty much ignore it.
- Really? - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:41 am:
I guess its only ok if a paper has a left leaning agenda huh?
What did the man say? “My hypocrisy knows no bounds”
- RonOglesby - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:44 am:
When I see this I smile. The lamenting of someone on the right buying a media outlet (or series of them) is funny from people who are perfectly fine with someone on the left buying or owning media outlets.
Its like someone bemoaning Fox News and then saying MSNBC is unbiased. Both have their bias but rallying against one like it is satan while approving the other is simple partisanship and intelectual dishonesty.
- ZC - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:48 am:
It’s not so much the editorials for me but I’d be real curious what happened to the Tribune’s coverage of climate change if the Kochs bought it. It would be an interesting academic study.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:50 am:
===Its like someone bemoaning Fox News and then saying MSNBC is unbiased.===
Um, who says that?
- Ruby - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:52 am:
“The money power has grown so great that the issue of all issues is whether the corporation shall rule this country or the country shall again rule the corporations.” -Joseph Pulitzer
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:54 am:
The Sun-Times buying the Trib? That would be the ultimate man-bites-dog story.
It would be reminiscent of what Mike Howlett said when Fast Eddie became a Republican: “Continental Bank is bust, two nice Jewish boys own the White Sox, and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party is a Republican. Old Man Daley is rolling in his grave.”
My bet is on Murdoch for the papers. I think he wants the LA Times more than the Trib. Los Angeles is one of his homes and he likes to use his papers to manipulate the local scene.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:56 am:
Bring back the fairness doctrine and newspaper ownership won’t interest the Koch Bros anymore.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:00 am:
===Bring back the fairness doctrine and newspaper ownership won’t interest===
The fairness doctrine applied to broadcasters, not newspapers.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:04 am:
Yes, right-wingers have suffered in silence, oh, these many decades, about their perceived liberal bias in media.
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:15 am:
Please Google George Soros to see how he influences the media to the tune of about $8B per year.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:17 am:
Too bad the year isn’t 1995, back when newspapers were where folks got their news.
Today, owning a newspaper is like owning an Oldsmobile dealership.
Maybe a new owner can figure out a way to make the Tribune profitable. Its no good as it is now.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:19 am:
David Koch was overheard saying that he hopes to change the Tribune editorial board because it’s too liberal and kind to state workers.
Just kidding, but this seems like a match made in heaven, the Koch brothers, the Trib editorial board and the Civic Committee. Perhaps if they buy the paper, there will be a pension emergency section on the front page for every edition.
- Skeeter - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:22 am:
Cincy, George Soros controls the media?
Man, that is some serious right wing paranoia.
Are you a birther too? Any other conspiracy theories you want to share with us?
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:32 am:
I could frankly care less who owns what newspaper. I’m not an investor so I have no particular interest in ownership. I think it’s good if somebody can buy the Tribune and make it run, financially. People have jobs there and it would be good for them to have a financially stable company. As for the arguments about the slant on news, all news is slanted. The people who write about the news are human and will never completely write something without bias no matter how hard they try. But who cares? If we aren’t smart enough to filter out bias then none of us should be reading the news.
- Shore - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:46 am:
would be fantastic to see the koch brothers come in. the city desperately needs some editorial tobasco sauce and I would love to see democratic candidates for office have to parade through that editorial board endorsement session.
- liberty4all - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 10:13 am:
Liberal 101- If you want to get your message out, buy up the media!
- Wumpus - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 10:28 am:
If Rich Miller owns Capitol Fax, then the Kochs can own the Tribune. At least Mary Schmich may be ousted.
- titan - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 10:38 am:
Great - a right wing version of the New York Times…the general level of the public discourse will certainly be elevated by that.
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 10:39 am:
Skeeter,
If you want to see paranoia, just read the posts about the Kochs’ above!
- walkinfool - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 10:55 am:
No problem. No change for the Trib either way.
- Judgment Day - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 11:19 am:
What a way to waste a lot of money. A lot of the components that make up Tribune Company have been starved for capital over the years, so after you buy the wreck, it’s time to invest capital. And that’s going to be seriously big money.
- Liberty_First - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 11:56 am:
Big deal, most of the major media are owned by corps whose executives are big Democratic party donors.
BTW - the Fairness Doctrine was removed from FCC policy ( it was still on the books but not enforced) after the embarrassing Genekowski/ Lightsquared crony deals fell apart. The White House didn’t want embarassing revelations of the lobbyists in the White House.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 12:18 pm:
Liberty, the FCC voted to abolish the Fairness Doctrine as policy in 1987. Congress tried once to codify it as law, but it was vetoed by Reagan.
- Capitol View - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 1:03 pm:
there aren’t enough southern, Evangelical seniors in the Chicago area to support the Trib under Koch domination —
the Kochs are trying to look for ways to influence the voting public other than by giving money to Karl Rove. Another Koch disaster in the making here.
- Boone Logan Square - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 3:15 pm:
A Sun-Times takeover would be hilarious. The Koch and Murdoch bids would be terrible.
My money’s on Murdoch.
- Meaningless - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 4:57 pm:
The “far right” needs every opportunity possible to introdoctrinate the public’s minds with their propaganda and extreme views. Didn’t somebody already write a book about the “Closing of the American Mind”? (Allan Bloom) Is there a better way to control the American mind than through the media?
- Liberty_First - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 8:56 pm:
wordslinger your wrong:
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/168807-fcc-sets-august-target-for-striking-fairness-doctrine
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 13, 13 @ 9:28 pm:
Libby, back at you.
==In August 1987, under FCC Chairman Dennis R. Patrick, the FCC abolished the doctrine by a 4-0 vote, in the Syracuse Peace Council decision, which was upheld by a panel of the Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit in February 1989.[13] The FCC suggested in Syracuse Peace Council that because of the many media voices in the marketplace, the doctrine be deemed unconstitutional, stating that:
The intrusion by government into the content of programming occasioned by the enforcement of [the Fairness Doctrine] restricts the journalistic freedom of broadcasters … [and] actually inhibits the presentation of controversial issues of public importance to the detriment of the public and the degradation of the editorial prerogative of broadcast journalists–
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_doctrine#Revocation