A New Hope?

Alienated newspaper lovers all over town may have been given a late Christmas present with the announcement that the Star Tribune is being sold off. Direct from the horse's mouth:

A private equity firm has reached an agreement to buy the Star Tribune from the McClatchy Co., publisher Keith Moyer announced today.

Whether that means the days are numbered for front page agenda journalism, PC blinders on important stories, insult editorials, unchecked casual plagiarism, and the willful arrogance of a self-aware monopoly is anyone's guess. But it sure wasn't going to endunder current ownership, so with this change, at least there is hope.

It looks like the current owners couldn't get away from their flagship publication fast enough. They sold it for less than half of what they paid for it eight years ago:

Newspaper publisher The McClatchy Co. said on Tuesday that it will sell its flagship newspaper Star Tribune to a private equity firm for $530 million, a sharp drop from the $1.2 billion it paid to acquire the newspaper just eight years ago.

Apparently taking a loss on this deal was necessary, and perhaps the primary reason for the sale. McClatchy sold 12 other papers for high profit in the aftermath of its acquiring Knight Ridder and it needs a large volume of red ink on the books to stave off the tax man. Which I'm sure is true. But I've seen no speculation stating that the Star Tribune is being sold at a bargain price. It's worth less than half of what it was less than 10 years ago. And that certainly correlates with the esteem it is now held by a large portion of the potential readership.

There are some dispiriting early reports that having new ownership will mean nothing to the operations of a business entity that lost half its value in less than a decade. Current and apparently continuing publisher Ken Moyer characterized the new owners (Avista) as:

They are progressive, very smart, good-hearted people who believe that no other media platform can reach a local audience as effectively as newspapers

Past on their own back and self-serving liberal euphemism is certainly business as usual for them. More ominously:

Moyer said he will remain as publisher, reporting to [Avista Board Member Chris Harte], and that the newspaper's management team will remain intact.

Maybe they're trying not to spook the herd before the deal is finalized, or they're going to make change with, or despite, the present staff. Either way, I'm sure this statement from the new boss sent some chills down a few spines:

You and I and everyone who works with us will have to listen carefully to our readers and our advertisers and make sure we provide them with the information and advertising they want, when they want it, how they want it.

Ah, were that it were true.

UPDATE: Hope ebbs with some cursory research on the new boss's campaign donation history.