McClatchy's Miami Herald for sale: report

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The McClatchy Co (MNI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has approached potential buyers about a sale of The Miami Herald, The New York Times reported on its Web site on Saturday.

Citing people briefed on the company's plans, the Times said the nation's number-three newspaper chain, struggling with debt and a downturn in advertising, wants to sell the newspaper. Its sources were not aware of any serious offers.

A company spokeswoman refused to discuss McClatchy's overtures with the Times, saying "We do not comment on market rumors."

The Herald, with a daily circulation of some 210,000 and multiple Pulitzer Prizes, is among McClatchy's largest dailies.

The people briefed on the company's plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Times The Herald has a slim operating margin and its waterfront real estate might be the primary lure in any potential deal.

But the downturn in Florida's real estate market, which has resulted in decreasing real estate advertising for the paper, is one reason the paper is struggling, the report noted.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE4B50NH20081206?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

[glowing]

1. Wouldn't it be really cool if many of us got together and bought the paper..

kinda like we bought the Obama campaign.. we each get a stake in the company.. and voting power over editors and such.. then they wouldn't be so beholden to those who want to control the news... and knowing that its owned by the people, I would think more would want to buy the papers. Of course, that would take some major organizing. But it would be cool to own an independent newspaper.. that isn't govt and isn't big corp.

[jetphixer]

2. Super Idea

This sounds fantastic 2 me We need more ideas like this one. One good Bush/Cheney have done is set us folks to taking back our Nation from the Nazi's! OOPS sorry about that comment i was thinking Republicans Well Adolph&Gobles / W&face shooter, not a lot to keep them separate sorrry if i got confused or did i? Just an OLD WINTER SOLIDER (USN RET)

[UpInArms]

4. welcome to DU, jetphixer!

you are not confused and among friends

:hi:

[Peace Patriot]

13. I agree, jetphixer! And welcome to DU!

It's a great idea for a consortium of many ordinary citizens to buy the Miami Herald and turn it into an honest newspaper. I'm sure there are millions of Miamians and Floridians who would like an objective, truthful, honest, untwisted, unbiased, non-Bushwhack, non-fascist, useful, straightforward account of Latin American news. Honest news is useful to everyone including business people. This is why the WSJ's news pages used to be far superior to its editorial pages--business people NEED accurate news. And dishonest news leads to big trouble, indeed--war, financial ruin, vast mismanagement of the government and the economy, vast injustice, civil disorder. You name it, dishonest news is in cahoots with it.

Currently, the Miami Herald's psyops and disinformation about the peaceful, leftist democracy movement that has swept South America couldn't have been a greater disservice to the people of Florida and the U.S. The South Americans have formed their own "Common Market"--UNASUR--sans the US, and are preparing to introduce a new common currency, to get of the US dollar. In summary, the South Americans have had it with our global corporate predator rape and ruin, and with brutal US interference in their affairs. With long hard work on their democratic institutions, such as transparent vote counting (work we need to do), they have at last been able to elect leaders all over the continent who attend to interests of their people, their countries and their region. The South Americans have achieved democracy, yet shit-rags like the Miami Herald, and their pals in Washington, have painted democracy as "dictatorship." Their "Alice in Wonderland" upside down, inside out lies have deliberately denied our people the information they need to understand events in Latin America. The Miami Herald has further actively supported the worst, most anti-democratic, most fascist, most evil elements in Latin American society--mass murderers, torturers, drug lords, crime bosses, assassins and real terrorists. If ever there was a newspaper that deserved to go bankrupt for failing to do its job, it is the Miami Herald. It will greatly improve the McClatchy news service to be rid it.

Speaking of honest news, the "winter soldiers" are the most heroic and admirable of reporters on the truth of war, and on why war is never a good option, and should always be considered a last resort. The reports of our soldier-citizens on the realities of war fill the great void left by our warmongering corporate 'news' monopolies. Thank you for being the greatest of patriots! If we ever get there--if we ever restore democracy in this country--our solder truth-tellers are the ones most deserving of our medals. There should be a special medal for soldiers who tell the truth about war, and who oppose unjust war. It is a difficult and dangerous thing to do. It requires the highest form of courage: moral courage. Kudos and laurel wreaths to you, friend--and, some day, a Peoples' Medal of Honor!

[Judi Lynn]

3. The Miami Herald has pandered to the right-wing reactionary element of the Cuban

since they launched a terror campaign against the old publisher, David Lawrence, who left, imagine that! At one point he and his wife both were having people check their cars for them before starting them every day, due to car bomb anxiety, car bombings being a big item in Miami against political enemies of the violent right-wing reactionaries. At one point the FBI named Miami "America's Terror Capital."

Here's an old article discussing how the Miami Mafia went about getting control over the Miami Herald:

TRYING TO SET
THE AGENDA IN MIAMI

Bashing the Herald is only part of Jose Mas Canosa's strategy

by Anne-Marie O'Connor
O'Connor, who is based in Miami, is Latin America and Caribbean correspondent for Cox Newspapers.

The Miami Herald usually takes and assumes the same positions as the Cuban government. But we must confess that they were once more discreet about it. Lately the distance between The Miami Herald and Fidel Castro has narrowed considerably. . . . Why must we consent to The Miami Herald and ElNuevo Herald continuing a destructive campaign full of hatred for the Cuban xile, when ultimately they live and eat, economically speaking, on our support?

Jorge Mas Canosa, chairman of the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation, in a local radio broadcast, aired on January 21 and printed in full in El Diario las Americas.

The revelation that The Miami Herald and its Spanish-language counterpart, El Nuevo Herald, were in bed with Cuban leader Fidel Castro must have confounded the editors of the Cuban Communist party organ, Granma, since the Havana daily has repeatedly portrayed them as right-wing tools of the eternal CIA campaign against the thirty-three-year-old revolution.

Anywhere else, Mas Canosa's remarks might have been ignored. In the darker recesses of Miami's exile community, however, his words were clearly a call to arms. Within days Herald publisher David Lawrence, Jr., and two top editors received death threats. Anonymous callers phoned in bomb threats and Herald vending machines were jammed with gum and smeared with feces. Mas Canosa's Cuban American National Foundation quickly denied responsibility and condemned the hijinks, but Mas's words were highly inflammatory in a city where public red-baiting has served as a prelude to bombings and, in past years, murder.

That was in January, but editors at the Herald still feel besieged. Foundations ads saying "I don't believe The Herald" in Spanish are appearing on Dade County buses. Lawrence has heard that foundation people are sounding out advertisers over whether they would support a boycott -- a troubling prospect in a recession.

Coverage of the foundation and Cuba is now carefully scrutinized, Herald reports say. "There has been a watershed in how we operate with Cuban questions," says one staffer, who requested anonymity. "Before the campaign, Cuba issues were dealt with in a routine way."

More:
http://backissues.cjrarchives.org/year/92/3/miami.asp

[Billy Burnett]

5. The Miami Herald was primary the conduit for E. Abrams' and F. Calzon's pro contra propaganda.

That was when Knight Ridder owned the paper, although McClatchy's purchase of it didn't change much.

---

http://www.cubasocialista.com/orgeng4.htm

National Security Decision Directive 77

I wonder what will happen to el Nuevo Herald - another source of anti Cuba propaganda?

[MisterP]

12. I think MH was the paper used to catapult the propaganda that

Managua was trafficking cocaine thru Florida--even though they and their masters knew it was the NSC doing the trafficking, and for the Contras

[Judi Lynn]

15. Local right-wing Cuban terrorists were completely involved in Iran-Contra.

You have to wonder if anyone knows just how many of them were. Two well known ones had very active parts: Luis Posada Carriles, CIA guy, and mass murdering bomber of the Cubana airliner, the man who helped slaughter 73 helpless people, including children and Cuba's fencing team over the ocean, and Felix Rodriguez, CIA creep who helped kill Che Guevara then stole his watch given to him by his father for graduation.

Miami used to have the biggest CIA station in the world.

As for El Nuevo Herald, that has been almost a pure right-wing propaganda conduit, hasn't it? Absolutely shameful. The radio station, El Progreso, has been monitoring its disinformation for ages, but that has little impact, in the long run, and the right-wing reactionaries broke into the station looking for the owner to demolish, couldn't find him, badly beat his employees, then pacified themselves in later days bombing his travel agencies.

What's keeping the same people who intimidated the Herald in the beginning to become a groveling appeaser for them to just go ahead and buy it themselves, print their own "news" and eliminate the middle man?

[Kolesar]

7. Editor Douglas C. Clifton left Miami to become editor for the Cleveland Plain Dealer

I was never very impressed with him here.

[olddad56]

6. Their slant on the news has been for sale for a long time.

[EFerrari]

8. They should just close the deal with The Heritage Foundation.

[Billy Burnett]

9. Good one!

:applause:

[Omerrrta]

10. did this paper send out those DVD's?

is this one of the papers that sent out those anti-muslim dvds before the election?

[Billy Burnett]

11. Yes. eol

[Name removed]

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