Toll Road Giant Buys Newspapers to Silence Critics

theNewspaper.com ^ | January 26, 2007 | theNewspaper.com

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Critics charge that the Macquarie purchase of American Consolidated Media is designed to silence critics of a Texas toll road project.

Australian toll road giant Macquarie agreed Wednesday to purchase forty local newspapers, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, for $80 million. Macquarie Bank is Australia's largest capital raising firm and has invested billions in purchasing roads in the US, Canada and UK. Most recently the company joined with Cintra Concesiones of Spain in a controversial 75-year lease of the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road.

Sal Costello, the leading opponent of toll road projects as head of the Texas Toll Party, says the move is directly related to a 4000-mile toll road project known as the Trans-Texas Corridor. It will cost between $145 and $183 billion to construct the road, expected to be up to 1200 feet wide, requiring the acquisition of 9000 square miles of land in the areas through which it will pass.

"The newspapers are the main communication tool for many of the rural Texan communities, with many citizens at risk of losing their homes and farms through eminent domain," Costello wrote.

Many of the small papers purchased, most have a circulation of 5000 or less, have been critical of the Trans-Texas Corridor. An article in the Bonham Journal for example, states, "The toll roads will be under control of foreign investors, which more than frustrates Texans."

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

TTC will NOT take up 9000 square miles. It will take up nearly 1000.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[NonValueAdded]

Let them try to buy the Internet. A tactic that might have worked in the past can only be stopped by the likes of McCain-Feingold now!

[UpAllNight]

--TTC will NOT take up 9000 square miles. It will take up nearly 1000.--

The article did not say it would take up 9000 square miles. It said it would involve the purchase of 9000 square miles. They have to buy up right of ways and interchanges. Later they will sell the interchanges to hotels and McDonalds.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

They purchase it; it takes up; same difference. It will take up about 1000 square miles.

[1rudeboy]

Later they will sell the interchanges to hotels and McDonalds.

You mean, lease, maybe?

[TXnMA]

"Let them try to buy the Internet. A tactic that might have worked in the past can only be stopped by the likes of McCain-Feingold now!"

Not even McPain-Fineswine can stop Americans from exercising the First Amendment!

[TXnMA]

TTC will NOT take up 9000 square miles. It will take up nearly 1000.

Thanks for the ping -- and for keeeping things on a factual basis!

[stevie_d_64]

This is all the new norm of revenue generation...The state buys up as much land as possible gaining control over the rights of development and bingo leases out the land, existing facilities/utility services, right-of-ways, etc etc...

And boom, money in their hands to squander on other crap...

They'll make us feel like we are a part of the discussion and debate, and flim flam us from here to Christmas telling us this will be good for the economy, and commercial interests blah, blah, blah...

Still haven't seen one thing to support in any of this...

[1rudeboy]

This is all the new norm of revenue generation...The state buys up as much land as possible gaining control over the rights of development and bingo leases out the land, existing facilities/utility services, right-of-ways, etc etc...

I submit it's the old norm. Walk through an airport lately, or a port? Remember the DPW fiasco?

[Kenny500c]

How about the jobs created?

[B4Ranch]

You mean the jobs created in order to build new roads or the few low paying service type jobs at the hotels and fast food restaruants along the way?

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[wolfcreek]

"Still haven't seen one thing to support in any of this..."


Me Either! I guess We're just not cut out to be Global Elitists.

[dennisw]

More "lets get rich by killing America's sovereignty" bullcrap. Follow the money. States should have their act together enough to run roads and highways except for county roads. It's un American to have foreigners making a profit operating toll roads

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

bump.

[RobRoy]

So, can they buy all the blogs too?

[ridesthemiles]

Even at your figures, 1000 sq miles== 640,000 acres. This is NOT a small amount of space, and it is a direct affront to the people who live near the present highways.
Who is going to pay to relocate all these people?????

[narby]

Australian toll road giant Macquarie agreed Wednesday to purchase forty local newspapers

They sure must expect to suck a lot of money from those ignorant Texicans that let them build that thing.

And the purchase price of old media newspapers is going down fast in the face of internet competition, so they won't be getting their money back.

[narby]

They purchase it; it takes up; same difference. It will take up about 1000 square miles.

But it will "take up" private property at the point of imminent domain to sell to third parties at a profit. That's outright un-american.

No wonder they can afford to buy all those newspapers merely to get the deal done.

[JSDude1]

Another example of Public Domain abuse, the Corporations profit, while landowners are left out to dry!

I hate globalism too, not just that but the push against US Sovereignty sickens me! The people that aprove this should be ashamed!

[biff]

"Boy howdy Mabel, those Aussies shore dooo wuant tue buy a big ole chunk of Texas now don't they??"

[deport]

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Dallas-based American Consolidated Media acquired by Australian firm

By Pegasus News wire

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Jeremy Halbreich

DALLAS — Macquarie Media Group (MMG) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of American Consolidated Media, Inc. and 100% of Valley Newspaper Holdings, LP (collectively, ACM), a Dallas-based publisher of 40 local newspapers which serve nine regional communities in Texas and Oklahoma. The acquisition has an Enterprise value of $80 million (US) and is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

MMG Managing Director Alex Harvey said "ACM is a very attractive investment for MMG as it meets our key investment criteria. It provides essential local news and information to the communities in which it operates, some of which are among the fastest growing regions of the US, has strong positions and long established histories in those communities and generates stable cash flows from a large diverse base of local advertisers."

Of ACM's 40 local publications, five are daily newspapers, 19 are weeklies and 16 are "shopper" publications and associated websites.

"ACM founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Halbreich has over thirty years experience managing newspaper businesses, including 12 years as president and/or general manager of the Dallas Morning News," Harvey said.

"The entire ACM management team eagerly looks forward to our new affiliation with MMG as we execute continued growth and expansion of our local community newspaper platform," Jeremy Halbreich said.

One of ACM's clusters of papers is just south of the Dallas / Fort Worth Area. ACM is the company that launched the free tabloid AM Journal Express in 2003.

Source: MMG / staff reports

---

[RushingWater]

Still haven't seen one thing to support in any of this...

Obviously, you must not drive much on I-35. Something needs to be done - hopefully if this is indeed the way it goes the state of Texas will negotiate smartly . . .

[RushingWater]

Anybody know who this Macquarie is? Looks like his name gets around down under - way down under.

[Publius6961]

Toll Road Giant Buys Newspapers to Silence Critics

Help me out here...
How does buying a newspaper "silence" critics?

Critics aren't allowed to buy or create newspapers?
Maybe crtics feel (wrongly) Constitutionally empowered with the "right" to disseminate their rantings for free?

Either way, I don't buy the headline.

[Publius6961]

You mean the jobs created in order to build new roads or the few low paying service type jobs at the hotels and fast food restaruants along the way where none exist today?

There.
Fixed it for you.

[JSDude1]

What's your point: I wouldn't want EMINEMT DOMAIN grabbin' my land, would you (like them taking yours)?

[Sir_Ed]

It means that all the columnists who were against this will be fired and the editorial stances will now be in favor of this theft.

I saw the same thing here in Oregon. Our local paper was bought by a big media consortium and the editorials that were all conservative are now pro-abortion, anti-gun, Molly Ivins sort of raving Leftist bilge, even though the county is conservative.

Ed

[hedgetrimmer]

Yes, we can keep a free country when a foreign country corporation buys up all our media then prohibits citizens from expressing any opinions through it. /sarc

The beauty of "free trade" is fully expressed here. Loss of sovereignty, loss of control by citizens of their own country.

[hedgetrimmer]

Our local paper was bought by a big media consortium

This is the death knell of our culture of freedom.

[biff]

Hello? Knock, knock!! Without coming straight out and saying it, it seems like everybody and their brother wants a piece of Texas and this idiotic tollway action. And guess who gets screwed? Texas and the Texas taxpayers, that's who.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[B4Ranch]

Yeah, the service jobs where the employee qualifies for food stamps because all the jobs are part time. You know the type of folks who don't pay any taxes at all.

[hedgetrimmer]

Without coming straight out and saying it, it seems like everybody>internationalists and their brother

Let's clarify.

[hedgetrimmer]

How does buying a newspaper "silence" critics?

The village idiot needs help?

[hedgetrimmer]

"The newspapers are the main communication tool for many of the rural Texan communities,

So it's REALLY important for an Australian to run them and to present only the views that support Australians.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

How does buying a newspaper "silence" critics?

The village idiot needs help?

Do you own a newspaper?

If not, by your logic you - and practically everyone else - are "silenced."

The dirty little secret of McCain-Feingold is that it promotes Big Journalism, which is the establishment in America if there is such a thing. It's not like there weren't any money involved in the journalism business . . .

[hedgetrimmer]

I don't know where you're from, but I have seen newspapers across the board censor conservative views in their editorial sections, and refuse to allow conservatives to purchase space to publish conservative views.

Don't buy the idiocy that foreign ownership of our media is not a problem.

[stevie_d_64]

Good one...

But those are jobs that Americans won't do...So "who" will be emboldened, encouraged to get those jobs you think???

Its a vicious circle I know, but a viewpoint that I think should be presented...

[stevie_d_64]

I hear everyday how much of a pill it is to do anything but burn gas at 0-5 mph on I-35...

But handing over what we have now to alieviate that problem in this manner, is still a band-aid for a major wound...And does nothing about the infection...(Sorry, I love to throw analogies into this)

The entities in charge of dealing with the overall problem with I-35 have failed miserably, they know it, and lots of other understand this as well...And pojnting fingers does nothing to solve it, nor casting off a obvious domestic solution does either...

This is the lazy way to deal with it...

And in this day and age of the people demanding instant gratification (however unrealistic) to a problem, and expecting government to come in and save the day...I just don't see this going in a direction that is going to help in anyway shape or form, unless you are one of the ones inside working things to your personal benefit...Thats what it smells like...

But heck, politics and economic development seem to be the "new" thing these days...

Tell me something though, just for my personal edification...I-35 is a pretty long stretch of highway...

So, is the problem of congestion and high-traffic usage right in the Austin area??? Because I can't imagine it being up and down the entire length of that road...

Just to let you know I do run over that way from time to time, my Grandmother lives on my side of Austin from Houston in Rockdale...

And yes, I do see a ton of traffic down the middle of Austin most of the time...

I just don't see this TTC doing anything but opening another endless and bottomless money pit of worms for this entire country, much less just the state of Texas...

[Kenny500c]

My solution for that is to come down hard on employers who hire illegals, and start confiscating company assets like they do for drug dealers.

Also we need to end the folly of granting citizenship to people just because their mother gave birth on U.S. soil.

And of course, no taxpayer funded benefits for illegals.

As for the low paying jobs, if nobody wanted them wages would have to rise in response.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I don't know where you're from, but I have seen newspapers across the board censor conservative views in their editorial sections, and refuse to allow conservatives to purchase space to publish conservative views.

I have no reason at all to doubt it. That's what the First Amendment says - that you have no business in court trying to make a paper print, for a fee or gratis, anything the owner of that paper doesn't want to print.

Don't buy the idiocy that foreign ownership of our media is not a problem.

Of course ownership of media is an issue. It is an issue because journalism is politics. It was politics when Ben Franklin had a media empire in the colonies before and during the revolution, it was politics when Hamilton and Jefferson sponsored competing newspapers in which to wage their partisan battles, it was politics when the sections of the country were breaking apart, it was politics when Hearst was getting us into war with Spain.

Journalism has never stopped being politics. Journalism especially became hyper-political when it started making the most political claim of all - the claim of being objective, which as far as I can discern is indistinguishable from a claim of wisdom. That matters because since Socrates we have understood that claiming to be wise is a power play. If you claim to be wise, you shut off debate. If you claim to be wise, you are engaged in sophistry. If you can get away with claiming to be wise, you can get away with saying that "it depends on the meaning of 'is'."

And of course, FCC licensing of broadcasters is predicated on the idea that broadcast journalism can mimic The New York Times and other hyperpolitical print journals - and that doing so proves that they are broadcasting in the public interest! A perfectly absurd rationale.

Why Broadcast Journalism is
Unnecessary and Illegitimate

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You're welcome.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

bump.

[JSDude1]

I agree; I just didn't understand your point..

[unixfox]

How about the jobs created?

So what, the IRS has jobs too, but I aint gonna side with em that's fer sure.

[biff]

Just drop it ok? You apparently are the only one that does not get it.

[hedgetrimmer]

Its a bit odd that you crossed out the word foreign, as in 'foreign ownership'.