McManus:Don't let corpo raiders liquidate the 4th estate (KnightRidder)

[blm]

He thinks we should BOYCOTT and rally behind these newspapers.

http://gradethenews.org/commentaries/boycott.htm



Commentary

Bruce Sherman put Knight Ridder in play.
Don’t let corporate raiders liquidate the fourth estate
By John McManus
Posted Nov. 29, 2005

It's come to this: A single wealthy investor is able to threaten the civic vitality of 32 American metropolitan areas by forcing the sale of their newspapers to new owners in order to satisfy his demand for larger profits.

Because those higher returns almost certainly will come at the expense of investigative reporting, independence from advertisers and adequately staffed and skilled newsrooms, the readers of Knight Ridder newspapers ought to rise up in opposition to the planned sale or dismemberment of the company.

After a decade of shrinking its news staffs, the nation's second-largest newspaper company no longer commands the respect it earned winning 84 Pulitzer Prizes in 79 years. But papers such as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Charlotte Observer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Kansas City Star, St. Paul Pioneer Press and San Jose Mercury News are still too essential to the civic life of their cities to be auctioned off like so many pork bellies.

Not just Knight Ridder's problem

Bruce S. Sherman, CEO and chief investment officer of Private Capital Management (PCM) catalyzed this threat to the public-service ethic of journalism without concern for the communities affected. And if he succeeds, he will not stop with Knight Ridder. PCM is the largest shareholder in six other large newspaper companies and owns a major stake in two more.
>>>>>>>>

[blm]

1. This is the reality of what we are up against. This is undertheradar stuff

that works to benefit the fascist agenda.

[rodeodance]

7. yes, it happens all the time---there is vast 'pyrimid' and it matters

little who is at the apex (Jr and his staff)---as the under the radar staff/people make rule changes all the time.

[blm]

2. .

.

[stickdog]

3. Yep

[msongs]

4. only 36% of stockholders bitch, what about the other 64% who

apparently are not concerned with KR's sitaution? (source for stats =
today's LAT)

sell out just because 1/3 are unhappy? whatever happend to DEMOCRACY?

Msongs
www.msongs.com

[blm]

12. Thing is, KR isn't even doing badly profitwise, but Sherman demands more

profit unreasonably just to do payback for investigating BushInc.

[kansasblue]

5. I'm hoping the 'new' media can rise up in time, like...

IWTNEWS.org, or Rawstory.

[Peace Patriot]

6. This is so--o-o-o-o-o bad! Does anyone have a plan to save Knight-

Ridder? Is there anyting we can do?

Knight-Ridder is the ONLY news service in the country that did honest reporting and investigation on Irag war isses!

[rodeodance]

8. when greed is the goal, there is little stopping this jaugernaut.

[blm]

11. It's KR's honest investigating and reports that made them targets for

BushInc's cronies.

And this is how they take their media enemies down. Have their cronies buy up enough stock to cause immense pressure on the entire company in hopes to break it up into smaller, ineffectual pieces.

[mmonk]

9. I sometimes believe we're not going to be able

to save democracy in the U.S.. Their (media moguls and conglomerates) capture of the media is the one thing that has allowed them (the administration) to get away with things no other presidency could have. The American people have quickly become the least informed of the industrialized world. The public is further propagandized that I could ever imagine it could be already.

[PDittie]

10. .

[nicknameless]

13. Kick n/t

[blm]

14. Kick.....lest we forget.

.

[Marr]

15. This is an example of how huge disparities in wealth destroy democracy.

If some people can essentially purchase the public dialogue, legislation, etc, then democracy is dead.

[blm]

17. That's why I want DU energy directed to this issue. So much time is wasted

on issues that have been created specifically to distract the public, like abortion and gay marriage.

While we spend years and billions fighting it out, the media is actually the culprit keeping us in wars and destroying the middle class for the fascist agenda.

The few honest journalists left are being silenced through the fascists' "just business" ruse.

[WiseButAngrySara]

16. Kick. (Can no longer recommend.) ...n/t