It seems as if Charles Koch has confirmed that he is looking into purchasing a newspaper company. In a Wall-Street Journal article released today. As I mentioned in this post I don’t believe Koch Industries is going to purchase newspaper companies to “control media”. Koch Industries will most likely buy the newspaper companies for what the companies are worth and try to make them profitable over the long term. Koch in a statement said that “there is a need for focus on real news, not news with an agenda or news that is really editorializing”. Koch Industries hired an adviser to look at possible media investments. Charles Koch stated Koch Industries will not be paying a high price either. According to Koch “[Koch Industries] wouldn’t be interested in putting huge amounts of money in [newspapers] on the bet [Koch] can have a miraculous turnaround”. Koch admits there is a lot to learn about the media business. Of course Koch Industries will only take on things that make economic sense.
It is interesting that there is so much opposition to having a company purchase a newspaper company. Apparently, according to this story 50% of Los Angeles Times journalists will quit if the Koch brothers purchased the newspaper. Interesting if these people quit their job where else will they work? The print industry is a dying industry. Technology has reduced the price of data, information, and journalism. Even bloggers like me have been providing news to people (for almost nothing). Some 500,000 people have signed a petition and protests have occurred in 12 cities to “Save Our News” from the Koch brothers. I love how the protesters usually have never worked for the private sector and if they did it was “an awful experience”.
I personally don’t believe Charles or David Koch are trying
to influence the editorial views of any newspaper they may purchase. If
anything Koch Industries is trying to make an investment and assets at a low
cost and trying to create value by putting those assets to a higher valued use.
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