When should an owner put his personal wealth into a newspaper

My favorite publisher told us that if you're "the rich boy's toy," you still need to make a profit. Because if you make money and he gets tired of owning a paper, he can sell it. But if the paper loses money and he gets tired of the paper, he either can't sell it and will fold it or will sell it to someone you're probably not going to like.

 

I'd agree, in that he might make capital investments (new front-end system or a new press) with plans to "pay himself back" over a period of time, but operational budgets need to come out of cash flow or whatever reserves the business has built up.

 

Newspaper owners don't earn profits by paying employees a decent salary.

 

Broad brush you're wielding there. Did you get it at the hardware store?

 

Any newspaper chain or owner paying reporters less than $30K woud be covered under my brush.

 

Quit if you don't like it, as the compassionate conservatives are fond of saying.

 

Considering 90 percent of the small dailies and weeklies in this country start their reporters in the $23-$27K range, your brushin' arm is gonna be awfully tired, awfully quick.

 

Those owners sure are struggling.