Private Capital may seek Knight Ridder board seats

This is sure starting to look more and more like a coordinated effort to split up Knight Ridder, by the Bush-loving Private Capital Management.
http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh58905_2005-11-10_15-06-07_n10296701_newsml

NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Knight Ridder Inc.'s top investor on Thursday increased pressure on the newspaper publisher to put itself up for sale, saying it planned to nominate its own directors and meet with other shareholders.

Private Capital Management (PCM), which controls 19 percent of the Knight-Ridder's stock, issued the threat in a regulatory filing after what it called a "limited response to the serious concerns" raised by several large shareholders.

... In Thursday's regulatory filing, PCM said it was "currently reviewing governance options and other courses of action regarding the company" and expects to "nominate a slate of directors for election by shareholders at the company's 2006 annual meeting."

PCM added that it also plans "to unilaterally engage in other activities focused on realizing fair value for the company's shareholders including, among other things, engaging in discussions with the company, other shareholders and third parties regarding issues related to the maximization of shareholder value."

Although media consolidation is a boon for businesses, it in no way serves the reader. If Knight Ridder gets split into smaller entities, it will be to the benefit of media consumers everywhere.

The national desk in DC that was the ONLY news organization who broke and stayed on the WH cooked the intel books story and the DSM.

This is a move by Bush's cronies to act against the ONE news organization that did the most to hold Bush accountable.

Unfortunately it will be done. The laws of capital...

PCM certainly won't just break up K-R for the good of the public. K-R is "liberal" in the eyes of the conservatives. I have no doubt that if PCM can force K-R to sell itself off in pieces, the pieces will be bought and absorbed into other media giants.

There will be no benefit, only loss, to people (like me) who read K-R newspapers.

--p!

If they are successful in this charade in breaking up a media entity for what content they put out, think of the message that sends out to other media entities out there in Corporatopia... Other companies might try to clamp down that much harder on content to keep it "in line" with what Bushco wants them to say to avoid a similar company breakup or other similar punitive measures that go unpunished in the marketplace or thc courts.

Folks, this is just simply something that needs to be STOPPED! For the same reason, if we can STOP this fascist effort, it will send a message out to others that the system still can be made to work for their protection, and they might be less "fearful" at putting out more truthful and controversial content. This isn't just for KR newspaper readers.

Also, there are many other newspapers that are in the Real Cities network that could be also affected, in terms of searching functionality and additional content that they are given as partners of the Real Cities Network. That might also go away for some non-Knight Ridder owned newspapers.

Our own San Diego Union Tribune is one such newspaper that is in the Real Cities Network.

Krugman endorsed KR awhile ago. That probably set the wheels in motion.

They pushed on the Ridder brothers all summer after that.