McClatchy CEO comes out strong for papers in Miami Herald interview

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14890234.htm

A highlight:

 

Saying you don't believe in hacking jobs -- good.
Actually following through and not hacking jobs -- great.

 

What a great interview. I loved these two quotes:

"The other thing newspapers offer that other media lack is authoritativeness. While there's a great appetite for blogs and other Internet activities, they're often just opinion. You know how they always said if you give 1,000 chimps typewriters they'll eventually write Shakespeare? The Internet has disproved that."

"They always say invest in companies that idiots can run because one day they will. Well, a lot of idiots ran newspapers. And they still were very profitable."

 

I hope they are sincere, but this type of noise is typical when one company buys another.

When (or if) the belt tightening starts? Forget about it.

 

I wouldn't call it typical. I've been through a few sales and/or changes in CEOs and publishers, and the usual line of bullshit includes a big dose of managementspeak jargon and -- here's when you know they're lying -- "we plan no major changes at this time" ("this time" being approximately one month). McClatchy has a history of doing right by its papers and people; I think Pruitt is sincere. From what I've read, he doesn't seem to speak as if from a flack-produced script, and I've got to give him the benefit of the doubt for at least that much.

 

I don't believe any of it for a second. Check back with me down the road.

 

While we're talking McClatchy, any word on Wilkes-Barre? Bids were due earlier this month, I think.

 

Sold to a former publisher of the T-L: http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/14905209.htm

 

i'm sure he believes every word he says. i have no doubt because mclatchy has proven itself over the years. journalists should cheer for this to work and everyone at former KR and now mcclatchy papers should be ecstatic.

but it used to be a company with a couple of newspapers. then it had a half dozen newspapers and was still a great firm. suddenly it's the nation's second-largest newspaper company. although it's still family controlled, plenty of family-controlled, publicly-traded companies have found themselves at wall street's mercy after major expansion. family can still maintain 50.1 percent, but it doesn't take much to cede control to a non-family member, and then it becomes like any other newspaper corporation.

here's hoping that doesn't happen, but the pessimist in me sees it coming down the road.

 

Um, no, I don't. I have a problem trusting people in authority positions, and anything they say.

 

Pruitt spoke to our staff shortly after the sale was announced. He was nothing short of impressive. So much more so than anything I ever saw out of Uncle Tony.

 

A business guy comes along and says something nice about the newspaper biz, things we all have believed among ourselves for years.
And what happens here?
He gets jeered and doubted.
No wonder the public distrusts journalists.