Seattle P-I lives!

[Frank_Ridgeway]

Hearst press release

HEARST CORPORATION ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO CONTINUE OPERATION OF THE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

NEW YORK, April 16, 2007 — Hearst Corporation today announced that it has reached agreement with the Seattle Times Company to continue publication of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (P-I) under the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA).

"We are very happy to reach an agreement that allows for the continued publication of the P-I, providing the Seattle area with the benefit of competing editorial voices and giving readers a choice,” said George Irish, president of Hearst Newspapers.

Under the terms of the agreement, the parties agreed to settle all outstanding litigation and to terminate Hearst’s 32 percent contingent interest in the JOA. Hearst is paying the Seattle Times approximately $25 million in exchange for the Times agreeing not to issue any loss notice until at least 2016.



http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=12482

 

[luckyducky]

Frank, you beat me to it...just got it in e-mail.

From the SeaTimes:

Agreement reached between Seattle Times and Hearst Corporation
By Sharon Pian Chan
Seattle Times staff reporter
In an agreement that will allow both of Seattle's daily newspapers to continue publishing for now, The Seattle Times Company and Hearst Corporation, which owns the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, have settled a four-year legal battle to end their joint operating agreement.

The Seattle Times Company, which is owned by the Blethen family, will pay $49 million to Hearst. Hearst will pay $25 million to continue the joint operating agreement, which allows Hearst to run the P-I's newsroom and the Seattle Times Company to run circulation and advertising for both papers. The Times company has also dropped all claims against Hearst.

Also, the agreement now contains a provision to try to assist the P-I's Circulation.


note: whoohoo!!!!

 

[chazp]

Good, maybe no one loses a job.

 

[Angola!]

Wow, this is great news. The best paper in Seattle will continue.

 

[gospringboks]

Wow, this is great news. The by far second-best paper in Seattle and third in the metro area will continue.

 

[HoopsMcCann]

NEWSPAPERS!

these damn things are gonna put blogs out of business

 

[Angola!]

Wow, this is great news. The by far second-best paper in Seattle and third in the metro area will continue.

And what paper in the metro area is supposedly second best? The PI is better than the Times. Sorry.

 

[Billy Pritchard]

NEWSPAPERS!

these damn things are gonna put blogs out of business

This made my day. Thanks, Hoops!

 

[Pops]

Always good news in this climate when hundreds actually KEEP their jobs, especially when it keeps competition alive in an important market. Good on those who made the effort to block the move; hopefully, they rise up next time as well. (Shouldn't be too long).

 

[Tom Petty]

Wow, this is great news. The by far second-best paper in Seattle and third in the metro area will continue.

And what paper in the metro area is supposedly second best? The PI is better than the Times. Sorry.

i'm eagerly awaiting the idiot response.

 

[BigSleeper]

The only other paper they might be referring to is the Tacoma News Tribune.

 

[Giggity]

AP says the deal contains language that would allow the P-I to convert to a tabloid, and forces the Times to take reasonable action to accommodate such a conversion.

 

[Angola!]

The only other paper they might be referring to is the Tacoma News Tribune.

The Tacoma News Tribune is a very good paper, but it is not better than the PI.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

The only other paper they might be referring to is the Tacoma News Tribune.

The Tacoma News Tribune is a very good paper, but it is not better than the PI.

All three are good papers. On any given day, any one of them could be the best of the three and any one of them could be third. Sort of like the three papers in southeast Florida.

 

[gospringboks]

P-I is only good for an occasional feature. Art Thiel is pretty good, too.
Times has superior baseball coverage. Tacoma News Tribune isn't far behind.
News Tribune has the best NFL coverage.

And the Times and News Tribune both have something the P-I doesn't have: a Sunday edition.

Oh, P-I is third in circulation among the three now. It's not a bad paper, but just far diminished from its heyday.

But hey, I'm living in a one-paper city these days. I'd like to have three in my place.

 

[Tom Petty]

The only other paper they might be referring to is the Tacoma News Tribune.

The Tacoma News Tribune is a very good paper, but it is not better than the PI.

the trib. used to have the best damned sports section in the state.

 

[Angola!]

P-I is only good for an occasional feature. Art Thiel is pretty good, too.
Times has superior baseball coverage. Tacoma News Tribune isn't far behind.
News Tribune has the best NFL coverage.

And the Times and News Tribune both have something the P-I doesn't have: a Sunday edition.

Oh, P-I is third in circulation among the three now. It's not a bad paper, but just far diminished from its heyday.

But hey, I'm living in a one-paper city these days. I'd like to have three in my place.

The PI's circulation has free-fallen, but don't you think it will bounce back now with this news? I just think it will be easier for the PI to get journalists in and fill some holes they have.
Also, out of curiousity, which papers have filled the void on the Eastside created when the King County Journal folded?
And I thought the PI didn't have a choice about the Sunday paper thing?

 

[SoupTheFilm]

Oh, P-I is third in circulation among the three now. It's not a bad paper, but just far diminished from its heyday.

Don't let facts get in the way of your ignorance.

Audit Bureau of Circulation stats:

Times Monday-through-Friday average: 212,691
P-I Monday-through-Friday average: 126,225
Tacoma Monday-through-Friday average: 116,150

The P-I is third in Saturday sales by about 2,200 copies. And the JOA dictates the Sunday edition situation.

 

[Claws for Concern]

Hooray P-I!

 

[SportsDesigner]

Thought you all might enjoy this bit of news:

P-I staffers reportedly celebrated Monday at a local pub, then several piled into a rented limo that night, stopped in front of the Times offices, danced, and a few even took a leak on the lawn. Security video supposedly exists.

Link:
http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/its_in_the_pee_eye

Another link:
http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_its_in_the_pee_eye