Running Lee Enterprises thread

[2muchcoffeeman]

Do we need one? Well, we talk about this traveshamockery of a news corporation all the time and they do all sorts of ****ty things, like this one …

(stolen from a former Missoulian staffer on Facebook, and apparently neither the Missoulian nor Lee has admitted this publicly … yet there was a story but they didn’t do much with it on social: Missoulian building to be listed at $8.58M)

 

[HanSenSE]

Traditional and obligatory "What's Mary's cut?" post. Carry on.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I heard of a Gannett site that recently put its building up for sale, and the corporate suits never mentioned it to anyone at that site.

They found out when a TV reporter in the market saw the building for sale on the Facebook site of the real estate broker and called the newsroom to ask about it, and questioned whether they were closing up shop for good.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Our old building was abandoned when they moved almost everyone across the river to our sister daily, and then torn down several years ago and replaced by an apartment complex for Microville Tech students (it was four blocks from campus). My old shop had a branch office in a strip mall for about four years before abandoning Microville completely last year. It's sad.

 

[Fredrick]

The hedge fund takeover and sale of these buildings is the last despicable straw regarding the business. It'd be a great news story/photo spread to see the before and after buildings and locations of "newspaper" buildings after the hedge fund takeovers. It guarantees a huge payday for the hedge funders as they laugh all the way to the bank while decimating an industry. At least newspaper reporters are smart and know what's going on and has been going on. Only reason they take it is Journalism is in their blood and they are proving they'll work for pennies and medical benefits. Surprised the hedge funds have not yet stripped employees of benefits if that is legal.

 

[I Should Coco]

If we weren't in the middle of this damned pandemic — and the building didn't look so much like a middle school — I'd say that site would be a good spot for Missoula's latest brew pub/restaurant.

I'm guessing they no longer print the paper at that site, but I could be wrong.

 

[jeezyboy5]

It’s ironic this Lee Enterprises thread has appeared. There’s some *stuff* going on. For starters, Omaha World-Herald has seen a couple of cuts this week. Then, Rachel Crader, Lee’s national sports editor, tweets that she’s now the sports editor of all Lee papers in Wisconsin, too. What does that MEAN? Last I knew, Greg Sprout was the sports man in charge at the WSJ. Now he’s not on the website’s staff directory. Could all be coincidence, or a less sinister reason, but I’m just throwing it out there.

 

[LanceyHoward]

Is Lee going to consolidate the Omaha and Lincoln papers? Print out of the same building and basically combine staffs?

 

[jeezyboy5]

Do you have information on a potential consolidation, Lancey?

 

[LanceyHoward]

Do you have information on a potential consolidation, Lancey?

None.

But according to my Google maps the Star-Journal building is 59 miles from the World Herald building. Companies have been consolidating printing of newspapers when they are within 200 miles of each other. And upthread Lee is selling the Missoula building which means they have pushed printing the Missoulan somewhere else.

 

[stix]

Lee is basically consolidating all their papers into regional entities.

 

[jeezyboy5]

Agreed. In fact, I assume these two papers already print together in Omaha. I have seen news stories in the past 6-8 months about Lincoln selling its printing facility. Will be interesting to see how Lee treats these papers moving forward, given the narrow proximity.

None.

But according to my Google maps the Star-Journal building is 59 miles from the World Herald building. Companies have been consolidating printing of newspapers when they are within 200 miles of each other. And upthread Lee is selling the Missoula building which means they have pushed printing the Missoulan somewhere else.

 

[HanSenSE]

Lee is basically consolidating all their papers into regional entities.

This may not bode well for the Napa Valley Register, which is the only Lee property left in California after Hanford, Santa Maria and Oceanside were sold.

EDIT: On second thought, may be a good thing to be freed from the constraints of Lee.

 

[LanceyHoward]

This may not bode well for the Napa Valley Register, which is the only Lee property left in California after Hanford, Santa Maria and Oceanside were sold.

EDIT: On second thought, may be a good thing to be freed from the constraints of Lee.

I don't think it bodes well. I looked at Lee's investor website to see how much they collected for the sale of the latter three and it was not disclosed, which means it was not considered a material amount. I would think they would have tried to sell Napa and were unsuccessful, which means the paper is virtually worthless and struggling.

I keep waiting for chains to start trading properties and consolidate them. For example, Lee owns virtually every paper in Montana but Great Falls which is a Gannett property. Gannett owns Springfield, Illinois and Lee owns Decatur. So Gannett trades Great Falls to Lee for Decatur.

 

[Readallover]

the Atlantic City Press is Lee's sole NJ property and another candidate for swapping. Gannett makes the most sense.

I keep waiting for chains to start trading properties and consolidate them. For example, Lee owns virtually every paper in Montana but Great Falls which is a Gannett property. Gannett owns Springfield, Illinois and Lee owns Decatur. So Gannett trades Great Falls to Lee for Decatur.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Gannett owns Springfield, Illinois and Lee owns Decatur. So Gannett trades Great Falls to Lee for Decatur.

And a pica pole to be named later.

 

[Monday Morning Sportswriter]

the Atlantic City Press is Lee's sole NJ property and another candidate for swapping. Gannett makes the most sense.

Why does Gannett make more sense than Newhouse?

 

[LanceyHoward]

Why does Gannett make more sense than Newhouse?

Newhouse is inscrutable. The family has a reputation for never selling a paper (New Orleans excepted) but they sold their cable company in 2106 to John Malone for over 11 billion dollars of cash and stock. So they have money despite the hits their newspaper and magazine divisions have taken.

For example Akron sold a few years ago to Gatehouse for 16 million dollars. I would have thought Newhouse would have been all over the Akron paper in order to consolidate with the Plain Dealer. And they clearly had the cash.

 

[Readallover]

Newhouse gutted the Trenton Times and it's selling off the Staten Island Advance property -- the Gannett model to the nth degree.
The Advance is moving to a new Staten Island location. Here’s why.

 

[LanceyHoward]

Newhouse gutted the Trenton Times and it's selling off the Staten Island Advance property -- the Gannett model to the nth degree.
The Advance is moving to a new Staten Island location. Here’s why.

I found the following from the attached article to be this:

"Much the same is happening at another Advance property in Grand Rapids, Mich. There, press operations will consolidate at an Advance printing facility in Cleveland." According to my Google maps Cleveland is 298 miles from Grand Rapids.