CNC

Wicked bad blow for the Herald?

adamg — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:50:06 +0000

Adam Reilly gets the scoop: GateHouse Media, which now owns all those suburban papers around here, is dropping the Herald's online classified system in favor of its own branded Wicked Local classifieds (with hints the editorial will shift to Wicked Local as well):

... It's not clear how much money Purcell's going to lose as a result, but it should be a tidy sum. ...

He quotes a memo from GateHouse local uber-guy Kirk Davis that ends:

... Thanks to all of you, today and every day, GateHouse is the wicked local media choice in eastern Massachusetts!

Compare the existing, somewhat staid Town Online with Wicked Local Plymouth.

It's too bad GateHouse doesn't own a paper in Revere, because it would no doubt be one wicked pissa Reveah papah.

My wicked good disclosure.

Not everybody likes the Herald deal

adamg — Thu, 11 May 2006 12:49:44 +0000

Dan Primack at Private Equity Week has nothing but scorn for the Herald/CNC deal, calling the Herald un-sellable and Herald Publisher Pat Purcell "disingenous" and saying:

... [I]ts best asset (i.e., its Chinatown-adjacent HQ) could be contaminated with decades of printing press toxins. ...

Via Lisa Williams, who rounds up other comments on the deal.

Just so you know where I'm coming from.

Saving local news

adamg — Wed, 10 May 2006 19:51:50 +0000

Chuck Tanowitz has some thoughts - he doesn't seem to care if he gets his local news from MSM or something like H2otown, but he wants to know what's going on around him.

Boston Herald: Moneymaker?

adamg — Wed, 10 May 2006 15:07:46 +0000

A little birdy fills Dan Kennedy in on what Herald Publisher Pat Purcell told the troops the other day - including the assertion that, rather than losing money last year, the Herald actually made a small profit. Kennedy raises questions about the post-CNC Herald, but explains why he wouldn't count the Herald out.

Charles Swift, meanwhile, ponders whether traditional "full-service" newspapers can survive in a world of micro-content.

Standard you-know-what.

How long can the Herald hold out?

adamg — Mon, 08 May 2006 14:30:15 +0000

Dan Kennedy asks tons of questions about Pat Purcell's sell-off of the CNC papers, chief among them: If the Herald is losing $2 million a year, and all the CNC deal did was eliminate the Herald's debt, how long can the paper last? But he credits Purcell for appearing to chose the higher calling of journalism over profits - rare in the business these days (he also looks at some interesting facets of the CNC part of the deal).

My standard newspaper disclosure.

Our newest newspaper barons

adamg — Sat, 06 May 2006 19:56:54 +0000

Mats Tolander notes that the real new owner of the Herald's CNC suburban and Boston neighborhood papers is not Liberty Group Publishing but Fortress Investment Group, a New York investment firm that owns Liberty:

Fortress Investment Group specializes in originating, structuring and providing customized financing solutions to corporate, real estate and asset-based borrowers.

So ideal newspaper owner or what? Then again, CNC was put together by Fidelity Investments, which for awhile thought it could break into newspaper publishing.

Dan Kennedy, meanwhile notes that Herald owner Pat Purcell kept pointing to profits from the CNC papers as the thing keeping the Herald afloat:

... Even though Purcell says the Herald will now be debt-free, how well can the Herald be expected to do as a standalone product? Or is another shoe going to drop? ...

David Scott analyzes the Herald's future, which he says depends on building a much better Web site:

... Otherwise, the Purcell sell-off to Liberty/Gatehouse is just a way to stem the tide as the teetering SS Pat P heads for more danger. The easy part is over: now reinvent your remaining Boston paper and make a real run at the Globe.

My standard newspaper disclosure.

Herald sells off suburban, neighborhood papers

adamg — Sat, 06 May 2006 03:13:45 +0000

The Herald says it is selling its CNC newspapers to Liberty Group Publishing, which owns small newspapers in 16 states. The company will rename itself GateHouse Media and will also buy the Quincy Patriot-Ledger and the Brockton Enterprise. Terms of the CNC deal were not announced; the Patriot-Ledger and Enterprise went for $165 million.