Philly papers file bankruptcy

More than the Inky (0.00 / 0)

This weekend not only saw the Inquierer file for bankruptcy, but it also saw the Journal Register co. file on Saturday as well.  They are the parent company for the Trentonian.  Just another indication of the struggles facing the industry.

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by: Jason Springer @ Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 11:40:58 AM UTC

This is terrible news (0.00 / 0)

and all the more reason for bloggers to fill in the blanks for the public....

One Vote.  Yours.  It really does matter.

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by: carolh @ Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 12:09:37 PM UTC

Another One Bites The Dust.... (0.00 / 0)

...maybe we should be bailing out Newspapers!!!

Imagine the beneficial results of even one billion dollars being dedicated to the pursuit and funding of real investigative journalism!

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by: Nick Lento @ Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 15:08:44 PM UTC

While I won't argue (4.00 / 1)

the fact that dead tree newspapers are in deep doodoo, the Inky is not closing shop.

The owners are filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.  This has the effect of immediately shielding them from their creditors.   They will then try to restructure the debt they incurred to buy the paper.  The owners and the creditors have to agree.  The bankruptcy judge can modify the agreement, but in any event, the judge must approve it.  Sometimes things don't work out though.

Anyway, what I got from the article is that Inky is doing OK - it is the debt incurred to purchase the paper (newsgroup) that is the problem.

Since I don't read the Inky unless something is posted here, I have no idea how good or bad their investigative journalism is.

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by: SmartyJones @ Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 16:20:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good Points SmartyJones! (0.00 / 0)

Bankruptcy doesn't, in and of itself, mean that the paper is totally "dead wood".   Though, I doubt that they would have chosen this option if they weren't forced to by circumstances that they wouldn't describe as "OK".  (That's technically ungrammatical...but it makes sense to me ;-)

The larger point is that the business models for print journalism aren't working for much, if not most, of what's left of the industry.   http://www.denverpost.com/opin...

Here's a very nifty example of a recent Inquirerer editorial...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer...

Here's a big no-surprise to anyone who follows local politics: The Delaware River Port Authority hired Gov. Rendell's former law firm as outside counsel one month after Rendell took office.

It's just the latest example of the often cozy relationship between politics and business in Philadelphia and Harrisburg that fuels the perception that you have to pay to play.

Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll L.L.P. was paid more than $600,000 in legal fees in the last two years alone, The Inquirer reported Wednesday. That would more than cover the roughly $500,000 Ballard Spahr paid Rendell in the two years he was employed at the firm after his term ended as Philadelphia's mayor.

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by: Nick Lento @ Mon Feb 23, 2009 at 18:40:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Here's the Real Deal (0.00 / 0)

philly.com put a gloss on the bankruptcy filing, conveniently omitting some crucial points:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/...

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by: SmartyJones @ Tue Feb 24, 2009 at 13:42:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]