Mercury News Owner Files For Chapter 11 Protection (Affiliated Media,parent co. w/54 dailyrags)

CBS5.com ^ | 1/22/10 | CBS 5 / AP

[NormsRevenge]

SAN JOSE (CBS 5 / AP) ― The holding company for newspaper publisher MediaNews Group filed for Chapter 11 protection Friday and expects to emerge from bankruptcy in a month or two.

Affiliated Media Inc., the privately held parent company for the owner of 54 daily newspapers including the San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times and Marin Independent Journal, had said Jan. 15 it would be making the move.

The company said it had a deal with creditors that will cut its debt to $165 million from $930 million.

Lenders led by Bank of America would get most of the company's stock, wiping out shareholders such as Hearst Corp., publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, which held a roughly 30 percent stake in MediaNews' newspapers outside the Bay Area.

[GeronL]

Wow, thats almost a moonbat monopoly in the Bay area.

Chap 11... watch the unions cry... lol

[shineon]

Dinosaurus deathasourus watchimicallit.

[GeronL]

Bank of America is about to be scwewed!!

[GeronL]

Sounds like Bank of America is trading debt that may never be paid back for worthless shares in a dying company

[gaijin]

Can’t WAIT for the SF Chronicle to go under for good..!!!!

Yaaaaay....!!!

This is sooo great! WHAT A GREAT WEEK..!!!

[Falconspeed]

The SF Chronicle is a disaster that already happened and it’s sad that the beautiful city of San Francisco has such as lousy newspaper.

[I see my hands]

Well if i had money, tell you what I'd do: I'd go downtown and buy a Mercury or two. Crazy bout a Mercury, Lord, I'm crazy 'bout a Mercury. I'm gonna buy me a Mercury and cruise it up and down the road.

TO

[Zathras]

WOW!

[fish hawk]

I just read two days ago that my home town paper’s Mother Company (sorry can’t remember the name) filed also. The paper is the Humboldt Times Standard from Eureka. They are the only paper in town so it must really be bad.

[Plutarch]

I just picked up a Mercury News (for 75 cents!) as I wanted to read an article on recent rainfall, and the housing market.

Also on the front page:

Justices overturn campaign spending limits.

Ruling allows corporations, unions to spend massive amounts of money for or against candidates.

The article continues in a sneering tone. They don't put scare quotes on "free speech", but you can tell they thought about it.

The Mercury News has biased its way into bankruptcy.

[null and void]

SV Ping!

[glasseye]

As a native of San Jose....I am breaking out the pop corn..

hehehehehe

[null and void]

It’s hella good...

[Drango]

The fourth estate is a fifth column.

[martin_fierro]

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[REDWOOD99]

And now..... We do the dance of Joy!

[null and void]

[tubebender]

Like fish hawk said they own the Times-Standard here in Eureka and 2 or 3 weekly papers in the smaller towns around here. The staff of the T-S is some 20 and 30 year old kids and they struggle to put out a coherent daily paper and the most offensive content is the environmental stuff and the letters to the editor are real whack jobs.

Check out the DU nutcase they quoted in todays story on the Supreme Court Ruling

I send stories like This to Grampa Dave to intice him up here to fish...

[REDWOOD99]

LOL!! Ya never let me down Nully! I was half expecting to see Balki. Gotta reschedule a Guinness at The Brit. Unbelieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevably, I’m still working down the street.