The suspense is killing us. When will Canwest’s publishing side enter creditor protection?
Soon seems to be the consensus. It’s not a question of if, but when — that seems certain. Still, we’re dying to know more about what’s happening behind the scenes. While we’ve learned to live with the uncertainty, we’re desperate for answers.
Who will end up owners of the Canwest newspapers? Will the dailies be sold off together or in pieces? What happens to the B.C. weeklies and small dailies? Does the announced closing of College Printers next September mean Canwest already has a plan for its papers printed there? What happens to Canwest News Service and other integrated operations if the chain is broken up? If a buyer(s) pay(s) too much and therefore takes on a pile of debt will we be back in the same spot a few years from now?
Show us the deal(s), so we can get on with our lives!
Since no one is talking, we’ve taken to looking for signs. Certainly the headlines about Canwest’s latest financial results do suggest a story.
Here’s the CBC: Canwest revenues, profit slump. Toronto Sun: Canwest revenue, profits spiral downward. Canadian Press: Canwest Global posts fourth-quarter loss on weak advertising revenues. Reuters: Canwest posts drop in revenue, operating profit.
But on the Canwest-owned Canada.com website: Canwest reports quarterly operating profit of $52 million.
Perhaps the positive spin suggests Canwest is still trying for a higher price.
And Leonard Asper’s message to employees this morning certainly strikes a “glass-half-full” outlook:
“Publishing too has made strides under difficult conditions. I know that it continues to be tough sledding but I can see signs of the economy starting to stir and I know the work that has been done to position Publishing to take advantage at the local level and nationally. Two areas that really struggled last year – the real estate sector and the auto sector – have shown some improvement from the last quarter.”
We hope the spin is just as positive come next round of bargaining.
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What would you get if you crossed Rupert Murdoch and Conrad Black?
We may soon find out.
Lachlan Murdoch, the elder son of Rupert, is reported to be close to buying U.S. trade magazines including the music and entertainment industry bibles Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter.
His company, Illyria, is interested in the bulk of Nielsen Business Media in partnership with a newly created investment team that includes a nephew of Conrad Black, according to the Financial Times.
Pluribus Capital Management brings together James Finkelstein, the publisher of Washington insider newspaper The Hill; Matthew Doull, a former publisher of Wired and Black’s nephew; and George Green, the former publisher of Hearst International.
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Despite some doomsayers, the printed newspaper seems very much alive, in London at least. According to the The Guardian, a group of unknown investors is planning to launch a new freesheet, the London Weekly. About 250,000 copies will be distributed twice weekly, on Fridays and Saturdays, outside rail and tube stations.
No launch date is confirmed, although there are rumours in the industry that it could appear in February. An online holding page states that the London Weekly website will go live on 20 December.
A press package prepared for potential advertisers says that publisher Global Publishing Group has raised more then £5.5m to launch the title, along with a website and online radio station and TV channel.
A detailed rate card says a full-page ad in the paper will be priced at £5,250 and a double-page spread at £9,291.
Gary Engler
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