Posted on 01/31/2007 10:42:42 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Macquarie to buy newspaper chain; critics fear it's to silence Trans-Texas Corridor opponents.
One of the foreign firms leasing the Indiana Toll Road is drawing suspicion from some Texans after announcing plans to acquire a chain of small newspapers there.
Australia-based Macquarie Media Group last week said it will pay $80 million for American Consolidated Media, which publishes 40 community newspapers and shopping publications serving nine communities in Texas and Oklahoma.
Macquarie's sister company, Macquarie Infrastructure Group, last year joined with the Spanish conglomerate Cintra to lease the Indiana Toll Road for the next 75 years. Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels championed the deal, heralding the $3.8 billion in instant revenue it brought the state, although 60 percent of Hoosiers opposed it, according to opinion polls.
Likewise, several grass-roots groups in Texas are battling that state's Republican governor, Rick Perry, and his plan to convert existing freeways to toll roads and build a new toll road, the Trans-Texas Corridor, that would stretch from the Mexican border to Oklahoma.
Cintra and Macquarie Infrastructure Group, which also jointly operate a toll road in Toronto, are expected to be among many groups bidding on about $250 billion in Texas road work and toll road administration over the next decade.
Through eminent domain, the Trans-Texas Corridor, largely paralleling the existing Interstate 35, would force people to sell off their land for the project. Small papers in rural communities along the route have aggressively reported on opposition to that plan, said Sal Costello, founder of the nonprofit political action committee, Texas Toll Party.
"It sure would make it a lot easier for their business if they weren't being torn up in the newspapers every week," Costello said of Macquarie.
The newspaper chain includes five dailies, 19 weeklies and 16 "shoppers," which are comprised entirely of ads.
"The big (Texas) newspapers have written about (public opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor), but the smaller newspapers have really dug into it," Costello said. "By them buying these papers in one fell swoop ... they'll be able to suggest to writers that they not dig into it. It's editorial independence we're talking about here."
Costello has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which still must approve the deal.
Costello said he recognizes how small the ACM newspapers are. The largest has a circulation of just 7,000. But that does not mean they have no influence, he said. Texas state legislators listen to their rural constituents, and the small papers often break stories that grab their larger counterparts' attention, Costello said.
But Costello's fears are so misplaced that they barely merit a response, said Jeremy Halbreich, ACM's founder, president and chief executive officer.
Macquarie Media Group owns television and radio stations in Australia, and a cable company in Taiwan. This would be its first foray into print journalism.
Still, Halbreich said Macquarie has enough media sense to appreciate the value of credibility. They know that if current ACM readers and advertisers think the papers have lost their objectivity, the product quickly will lose its value for shareholders, he said.
"We cover both sides of the issue and that's not going to change," said Halbreich, former president and general manager of the Dallas Morning News. "For these people to suggest that it's going to happen tells me how naive they are about the newspaper business and how it works."
Rusty Todd, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, agreed.
"That's a stretch," said Todd, who worked for the Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones News wires before entering academia. "They're buying these newspapers because they'll make money with them. Weeklies and small dailies still have got steady circulation, and although they are small, they still have good profit margins.
"There are other ways to build public opinion that are much cheaper," Todd said. "They could just buy ads, hire lobbyists and establish front groups that appear to be public interest groups. That way you build public opinion and can then walk away from it, and you're not stuck with a big investment."
Macquarie officials could not be reached for comment. But in a news release, the company said it was attracted to the ACM papers, and community newspapers in general, partly because they lack competitors.
That rationale should be a red flag for Hoosiers, said Steve Bonney, a West Lafayette sustainable farming advocate who was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that unsuccessfully tried to stop the Indiana Toll Road lease.
Macquarie and Cintra required "no-compete" language in the lease, prohibiting the state from building new roads near the Indiana Toll Road.
Bonney said the ACM deal is just more evidence that Macquarie is pursuing investments with the highest-possible returns for investors. That the Indiana Toll Road fit into that corporate mission cannot be in the public's interest, he said.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
Thanks for the ping!
You're welcome. :-)
If you can't beat the opposition, buy them out!
This trans Texas corridor includes Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Stop the nonsense in Texas first, before this spreads like illegal immigrants running across the border.
Naive, indeed. 'These people' know much more than he cares to understand. Real Americans are going to get mighty pissed off over these next couple of years.
"groups in Texas are battling that state's Republican governor, Rick Perry, and his plan to convert existing freeways to toll roads and build a new toll road, the Trans-Texas Corridor, that would stretch from the Mexican border to Oklahoma."
I didn't know it was to be that big! Let's just give terrorists and illegals the key to the city, why not?
BTTT
Well YOU voted for him, not me! ;-)
Don't remind me!!! I was going to vote for Strayhorn.
Gee that would have been even worse! I understand the nut case dims voting for Bell, and the head in the sand Republicans voting for Perry, and I joined the protest voters for Kinky, but why would anyone vote for "One Certified Crazy Grandma?."
So it's just an interesting coincidence that their first buy is right there.
Still, Halbreich said Macquarie has enough media sense to appreciate the value of credibility. They know that if current ACM readers and advertisers think the papers have lost their objectivity, the product quickly will lose its value for shareholders, he said.
$80 million for some papers in order to get a multi-billion dollar contract can just be considered a cost of business. They can sell the papers at a discount after this is all over and still return higher value to the shareholders.
bump.
"why would anyone vote for "One Certified Crazy Grandma?."
Probably had something to do with her opposition to the TTC. Too much of a flip-flopper for me. Kinky '08 {:>(~
"why would anyone vote for "One Certified Crazy Grandma?."
Probably had something to do with her opposition to the TTC. Too much of a flip-flopper for me. Kinky '06 {:>(~
Can I get on your pinglist? (Austin)
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Two words:
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We FReepers are not "naiive" on that issue...
Texas will stop improving the roads sometime after you state stops improving roads.
Ex-Bush Admin official Daniels that is. What a coincidence!
Isn't that the whole point of it?
This plan has been proceeding ever since NAFTA was signed. The improvements to I-35 are substantial south of Kansas City through Kansas. What has been called highway safety improvements is part of the integrated plan of burying fibre optic cables and truck sensors that can track the movement of freight, the speed of traffic, etc.
Part of the grand plan of establishing a Port of Mexico in Kansas City has been the aquisition of the land that will be given to Mexico for the port facility. The remote sensors along i-35 are supposed to track freight and cargo container movement from the Mexican Border to Kansas City, where the customs will inspect the cargo, rather than inspections at the border with Mexico.
Fast Freight. Fast Cash. Unsafe Mexican trucks. Low paid drivers not governed by Federal Transportation log books and required breaks. Uninspected container cargos being unloaded right in the middle of America. That could include nukes and drugs since we know our mexican friends seem to have more than their share of corruption.
It's a good plan we are told. Good for who?
Well good for the Spanish and Australian conglomerates who bought into it, at any rate.
You say that inbound freight will be inspected in KC rather than the border. That'a a big lie.
The reason for having Mexican customs in KC is to pre-inspect outbound freight so that it can cross the border more quickly as it leaves the country.
Now realistically, how much outgoing freight will be leaving Kansas City that goes through Mexico, compared to the volume of freight we import from Mexico? There is no lie here.
The understanding we have here is the freight from mexican ports will come in containers to Kansas City, where there will be a Mexican trade zone (only foreign embassys have been able to control ground on American soil until now, which is a violation of US sovergnity). That site, by the way, has already been picked out and development is soon to start when some infrastructure issues are resolved.
The freight will be cleared for export by Mexican officials and the containers will be inspected. Then the goods are moved out of the trade zone and on to regular highways for distribution from there.
The I-35 corridor will be a limited access/regress highway that keeps the trucks contained to that highway corridor with the use of service plazas directly in the highway corridor so no truck can leave the highway before it arrives at Kansas City. The car traffic will still be able to exit at regular interchanges. The fibre optic sensors have already been placed at intervals in the medians. The freight containers will have RFID chips placed on the containers upon entry into the US so any unauthorized movement of containers off the turnpike will be detected by the fibre optic RFID tracking system.. The kansas turnpike already has the service plazas. Fuel and food and lodging are right in the highway median.
This is already in place, so the highway is as good as done right under our noses and this open border, free trade initiative will move forward dispite a nearly 90% opposition to the plans. There are already tolls in place in Kansas segments. That money stays in kansas. But when foreign companies start controlling our roads and charging tolls, we have to draw the line. This is our country and I ain't paying no foreigner for my right to move freely around my country.
You're on, txflake. :-)
By the way, how can you stand living in Austin? Last I heard, that place is lousy with liberals.
International trade growth has been significant and will continue to grow. The whole world, not just Texas-not just the US, has and will be building infrastructure to acomodate this growing international trade. Texas will need to build infrastructure not just to handle this trade, but also a population that will double over the next 30-40 years. And its not just roads, we will be building water and electricity supply. Also rail lines and pipelines. Our future needs would not be as great if there weren't so many fleeing socialist states like Missouri.
When it comes to building infrastucture to accomodate the increasing trade, there is a lot of competition. Transporting goods costs money and those on the routes will benefit financially. Developement also follows along these routes.
There is competition between the routes and along the route.
Between the routes: NASCO/the I35 corridor is competing with the I69 corridor and the Ports to Plains Corridor.
Along the route: The KC port is competing with ports in San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Dallas. Unlike the KC port that has to be developed, these ports in Texas already exist.
Arizona is not standing still. They already have their inland port, Puerto Nuevo in Tucson. They are confident that with the mexican ports of Guaymas and Punta Colomet, they can get their share of the asian freight.
Panama is not atanding still. Expanding their canal gives them the ability pass Panamax freighters bound for US ports on the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern seaboard.
Everybody wants to make money. Isn't that great.
Excuse me? I do not base my opinions on Corsi or Alex Jones, who is also thrown into that category. I base my opinions on how everything interacts with everything else in government. There are too many deals being brokered that are not in the public's best interests. Whether it be illegal immigration, trade with red China, blocking oil field development in ANWR, NAFTA etc. the bottom line is how much money can be made for some and how much of a trade off will be required by others.
However, it is interesting you bring up Corsi. How quickly some people go out of their way to discredit the things they say. Could it be they are striking some nerves?
Perhaps they look at the big picture? While most people are blinded by the headlights in front of them and cannot see what is lurking on the side streets if one makes a wrong turn. And we know we cannot believe everything government tells us. Even Bush lied about WMD in Iraq somesay. So there! Who can you believe? Just because they are in power does not make one more credible although we would like to believe otherwise.
Brushing them off as lunatic fringe is as popular as brushing off the far left. If you don't listen to what they say and be aware of what could happen, you will lack the preparedness to react if they are actually right and their dreams actually materialize. People in power do plot outcomes to protect their power.
When it comes to lunatic fringe, if the shoe fits, wear it.
30 replies and 43 Keywords! yikes.
But I have to work in Austin :(
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