Friday, March 28, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Community Paper
Sun Valley residents band together to buy local paper
http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A312051
http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A312051
"Sofro is calling it the "Green Bay Packers" form of ownership, referring to the only professional football team to be owned by the town in which it's based. There would be different levels of involvement depending on the investor, allowing some to be silent partners while some may sit on the board of directors, and still others may join the paper's editorial board.
The Journal is currently owned by Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, a fact that has hurt the publication's reputation in the tightly knit mountain community.
"[Corporate ownership is] something that we've been beaten up heavily [about] by other media, especially the Mountain Express," said Journal publisher Trey Spaulding.
Spaulding, who took over the Journal in 2005, hopes the sale will bring some much-needed stability to the paper, which has changed hands numerous times since it was founded in 1974. The paper has been locally owned at various times in its history, and Spaulding said the Journal was at its most profitable during those periods.
"It's a good move," Spaulding said. "It's positive for the community and the paper."
While Lee Enterprises was cast as the Boogie Man, sucking money out of the area, Spaulding said the paper has not been profitable for years, yet the company continued to invest in the Journal.
Sofro said the sale price of the paper isn't the biggest money concern, but rather coming up with the operating funds to keep publishing the paper.
So why would anyone want to buy an unprofitable newspaper in a time when print journalism's relevance is already being called into question? "
Monday, March 10, 2008
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