Speculation swirls on heels of Singleton's newspaper buyout.Now that newspaper mogul William Dean Singleton William Dean Singleton is the chairman of the board of directors of the Associated Press, on which he has sat since 1999. He is also the founder, vice chairman and chief executive officer of MediaNews Group, the fourth-largest newspaper company in the United States in terms of is back in the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, market - through his pending purchase of the Thomson L.A. News Group - the next question becomes: What else is he after? On Sept. 20, Toronto-based Thomson Corp. announced plans to sell the San Gabriel San Gabriel (săn gā`brēəl), city (1990 pop. 37,120), Los Angeles co., SW Calif.; inc. 1913. Fabric, furniture, paper products, tools, and aircraft parts are manufactured. Valley-based newspaper chain to Singleton. Thomson L.A. publishes the 57,500-circulation San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. Tribune, the 42,500-circulation Pasadena Star-News The Pasadena Star-News is the local daily newspaper for Pasadena, California. The Star-News is a member of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. External links
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the sale will not be finalized until it is approved by federal regulators. Besides agreeing to buy the Thomson L.A. group, Singleton has signed a deal to acquire the Thomson-owned Eureka (Calif.) Times Standard and The Evening Sun in Hanover, Pa. Singleton's MediaNews Group Not to be confused with Media General, an unrelated newspaper and TV group. MediaNews Group, based in Denver, Colorado, is one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States. , based in Denver, owns 110 newspapers throughout the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , including its flagship, the Denver Post. The company is known for buying struggling newspapers and restructuring them to increase profitability - usually by forming partnerships with other local papers and slashing administrative staff. However, Singleton told the Business Journal that he doesn't plan major staff cutbacks at the San Gabriel Valley papers. "You can't stand up and say there will be no changes, because life isn't that way, but we don't foresee any massive changes," Singleton said. "Those papers are operating pretty well; they're comfortably profitable." One upcoming personnel change will be the departure of CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. and Group Publisher Joseph Logan, a 38-year Thomson veteran who will take an as-yet-undetermined position with another Thomson outlet. No successor has yet been determined, Singleton said. The Singleton purchase was generally well received by staff members at the local papers, who have long been aware of Thomson's desire to sell. Thomson announced Sept. 20 that 29 of its 97 dailies would be put on the block, because the company is restructuring and changing its focus to selected markets. "(MediaNews) wants to run the newspaper. I think that's perceived as a good thing, because there seems to be some new energy and commitment," said an editor at one of the Thomson group papers. The pending purchase will mark the second time Singleton has owned the Pasadena Star-News, which he bought in 1989. The paper was then merged into a newspaper group owned by Thomson that included the Valley Tribune and the Whittier Daily News. Singleton sold the Star-News to Thomson in 1990 for an equity stake in the combined company. He sold his interest in 1992 - with the understanding that if Thomson ever decided to sell the newspaper group, it would offer it to Singleton first. An industry source familiar with Singleton speculated that the newspaper magnate may be interested in broadening his Southern California holdings to more easily attract national retail advertising. Possible acquisition prospects include the Long Beach Press-Telegram The Long Beach Press-Telegram is a major daily newspaper published in Long Beach, California. Tracing its history to 1897, it is currently published by the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. External links
Another possibility could involve the purchase of several smaller dailies in the area. Singleton visited the Daily News in late 1993 to explore a purchase, but apparently decided against it because the asking price was too high, according to former employees at the paper. Singleton said he currently has no plans to acquire other newspapers in Southern California. |
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