Comments on: Why Warren Buffett is buying newspapers

By: jcjet2

jcjet2 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:22:51 +0000

AS the article says ..Buffett’s company also obtained stock warrants that will likely pay out handsomely as Media General works on becoming a full-time broadcasting company.I still see Buffett and Immelt and Obama’s influence in this deal.Media broadcast can control even more what people are watching. Obama Pal Jeff Immelt GE(NBC) now owning majority in Comcast. they I believe will one day control the political content as well.
Comcast is creating its own content rather than distribution. They will own it.FCC is doing nothing about Progressive take overs of all Media in the country.
Also the sale does not include newspapers in Media General’s Tampa division. They are already Progressive Rags.

By: jcjet2

jcjet2 — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:45:26 +0000

What change do you believe will be welcomed. Has Buffett
given any Idea?

By: jcjet2

jcjet2 — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 20:26:30 +0000

Dont forget Buffets highly skeptical comments in his 2007 letter to shareholders.(Quotes”)
“When an industry’s underlying economics are crumbling, talented management may slow the rate of decline. Eventually, though, eroding fundamentals will overwhelm managerial brilliance,” he said in discussing the shrinking profits at his first newspaper holding, the Buffalo News.
But Buffett was adamant that the World-Herald deal was “reasonable,” and told shareholders earlier this month they were likely to see him do more.
“We may buy more newspapers. I think the economics work out OK,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s annual meeting on May 5.
Buffett under Obamas influence.(is he senile?) buying up all of these news papers and media?? possible that with Comcast, NBC ect already in liberal hands now the buyup of struggling newspapers and weekly’s.
There is also the attacks on Rupert Murdoch to consider. the only opposing voice to progressive socialist double-dealing media.

By: jcjet2

jcjet2 — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 20:00:58 +0000

Dont forget his highly skeptical comments in his 2007 letter to shareholders.(Quotes”)
“When an industry’s underlying economics are crumbling, talented management may slow the rate of decline. Eventually, though, eroding fundamentals will overwhelm managerial brilliance,” he said in discussing the shrinking profits at his first newspaper holding, the Buffalo News.
But Buffett was adamant that the World-Herald deal was “reasonable,” and told shareholders earlier this month they were likely to see him do more.
“We may buy more newspapers. I think the economics work out OK,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s annual meeting on May 5.
Buffett under Obamas influence.(is he senile?) buying up all of these news papers and media?? possible that with Comcast, NBC ect already in liberal hands now the buyup of struggling newspapers and weekly’s.
There is also the attacks on Rupert Murdoch to consider. the only opposing voice to progressive socialist double-dealing media.

By: Martin Wilfork

Martin Wilfork — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:36:21 +0000

Wake up. This is all about getting the communist-in-chief back in power for another four years. Who wants a local newspaper to make money?

By: Angus

Angus — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:44:14 +0000

a) He doesn’t understand that the internet has killed print media.
b) He is getting senile (this adding further to the evidence given by the ‘Buffett Rule’.
c) To try to help Obama
d) All of the above

By: Tony MacFarlane

Tony MacFarlane — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:28:06 +0000

This is such a bad idea. I know it looks great on the surface, and probably will keep Buffet’s as rich as ever, but this spells disaster for small-town newspapers.

Of course, this is seen from the perspective of someone who did not swallow the digital koolade. The reason the big-city papers went bust is because their assets were tied to the toxic credit-default bubble of the early 2000′s. When the money dried up, suddenly they were under tremendous pressure to digitize ahead of schedule. A feeding-frenzy ensued, and those who could not get online quickly enough–or chose poor digitization strategies–were swallowed by sharks.

Now the speculators have lifted their bloody snouts from the trough, and they see these smaller papers doing just fine. So what do they do? They bundle them with bigger media entities, and make off like bandits. I gotta hand it to Buffet for being the first to see it, because soon, like carpetbaggers in Atlanta, the rest of the vulture capitalists will soon swarm in and swallow up all these local papers that communities do indeed rely on.

And what will happen to these bastions of truth, once the greed destroys another once-lucrative market? Bah! You mark my words: local papers will start getting flushed before the decade is out. And of course, the bastards will tell you it’s all about new media, while they tweet from their golden toilets.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:59:30 +0000

There may be no barrier to entry into the field, but that doesn’t automatically create useful news that people will want to read. I think Patch is a good example of a newcomer into the market, working to grow their business, but they are basically a newspaper (just lacking the printed product). Newspapers across the country are multi-media companies and as the article pointed out, they are covering the news that no one else is (local government, local sports, etc.).

Commenters and commentators may come to the internet, but without quality content and trust within the community they will not pose a threat to the position of newspapers (at least for mindshare among readers).

The younger generation is digitally savy, but as they settle into communities (having children and buying homes) I believe we will see them falling into the same grove as the older generation, reading the newspaper (maybe not in print, but on a tablet or online where their presence can still be monetized).

By: David Merkel

David Merkel — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:57:39 +0000

EBITDA is 50MM/yr. He didn’t pay $142MM for $MEG, he paid $542 MM because of the term loan. That’s a price/EBITDA of 11 times, and that is not cheap.

Also, EBITDA is falling, which means the multiple should be extra low. Also note the deeply negative tangible net worth: -$23/share. There are TV & data assets here, but I don’t think they compensate enough.

This was not done to make money. This was done because he has a soft spot in his heart/head for newspapers.

By: Jeff John Roberts

Jeff John Roberts — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:11:10 +0000

Thanks for the comments.. My gut feeling is that this is more of a business investment than a political one.. Warren Buffett is no Randolph Hearst.. But the reality remains that papers are still a form of power