Next up in the Great Amercian Bailout - Newspapers
Booya (I love this word, so fun to say). I have been saying this for months that now the precedent for bailouts is set, everyone would line up. I just got finished watching the Newshour and now it looks like the Art Community is now looking for the bailout. They mentioned that they employ 6 million Americans in their “highly fragmented community” is how it was put. I did a little fact checking and Small Businesses employ between 21-56 million Americans, who wants to bet they don’t get a dime?
I agree that we do need the press for a functioning democracy but with that said, I believe we do have a decent amount of press (the coverage can always be better). My thoughts are because the Internet is radically changing their business model and because they did not make the needed changes fast enough like our domestic auto-makers, they are using this as an opportunity to get access to some taxpayer money. This will not stop until we chase out all the private capital in our economy and we are up to our ears in public debt. Who would want to invest or start a business if you don’t know if a potential competitor will get bailed out and give them an unfair advantage. Man, I miss the free(er) markets.
News:
Connecticut lawmaker Frank Nicastro sees saving the local newspaper as his duty. But others think he and his colleagues are setting a worrisome precedent for government involvement in the U.S. press.
Nicastro represents Connecticut’s 79th assembly district, which includes Bristol, a city of about 61,000 people outside Hartford, the state capital. Its paper, The Bristol Press, may fold within days, along with The Herald in nearby New Britain.
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Tribune newspaper files for bankruptcy protection from creditors
It will be likely to see more of these private equity deals fall apart and it up in bankruptcy as well. Sam Zell must not be happy about this turn of events. It is interesting that they talk about “de-leveraging” in this press release. Something tells me that this might not be a Recession but in reality a very real Depression. The stock market is sending mixed signals, with the amount of bad news coming out, it is surprising that the market is not only where it is at but actually gaining. Maybe some of these liquidity is seeping into the stock market?
News:
The publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times declared bankruptcy on Monday as the U.S. newspaper industry’s unrelenting loss of readers and advertisers claimed its biggest victim yet.
Tribune Co, which owns eight major daily newspapers and several television stations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after collapsing under a heavy debt load just a year after real estate mogul Sam Zell took it private.
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