A return to local ownership?
Central Iowans should care who owns the local newspapers. A disappointing change occurred when Gannett bought The Des Moines Register. And even recently, the sale of The Business Record to an out-of-state group ended poorly. Now another very important newspaper ownership change is in the works.
Daily newspapers The Ames Tribune, The Boone News-Republican and a host of other weekly Iowa newspapers and shopping guides have reportedly been sold by the Omaha World-Herald company to a source not yet identified. Some of us here at Cityview have a keen interest in this, as we worked for the World-Herald group, as well as previous local owners Michael Gartner, Gary Gerlach and David Belin. We would all say, without a doubt, that local ownership best served the newspapers and the communities we covered. We learned that working in such an operation was a true privilege.
When the untimely death of Belin forced the sale of these papers to the World-Herald group 10 years ago, we thought that was the best scenario. In time, we learned that we were wrong. It became clear that these papers were an investment made by the out-of-state group, and they expected a strong return on their money. They got it, albeit at the near death of many of the papers and the loss of a talented employee pool. Eleven years later, after squeezing out every ounce of profit, the papers are being sold at a fraction of the purchase price.
The formidable names mentioned most as the buyer are Lee Enterprises (Davenport, Iowa), Community Newspapers Holdings Inc. (Birmingham, Ala.), The Cedar Rapids Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Ogden Newspapers Inc. (Wheeling, W. Va.) and Gannett (McLean, Va.). Recent reports say Lee is out, as are some others who have been unable to secure financing. By the time you are reading this, the new owners may have been announced.
If Iowans purchased the papers, management at the Register should be concerned. A local company that is willing to make investments and is not afraid to mix it up with the daily could be a real player. And if they are Iowans, they will have the opportunity to be better accepted by readers than the Nebraska folks were, and rightfully so. But whoever the buyers are, they, too, will have to prove that their interest is driven by more than just profits. CV
