The Newspaper Guild-CWA Continues Drive for Buyout of 'Worker Friendly' Newspapers

Following is a statement by TNG-CWA President Linda Foley on the announcement that McClatchy Co. has agreed to buy Knight Ridder Inc., with plans to sell some of those newspapers.

Washington, D.C. -- Today's announcement that McClatchy Co. will buy Knight Ridder Inc. and sell 12 of the newspapers it is acquiring indicates that the process continues to move forward. TNG-CWA's efforts are moving ahead as well, as we continue our substantive discussions with all involved parties.

McClatchy has indicated that it plans to sell 12 of the 32 Knight Ridder daily newspapers.  Included in those twelve papers are eight papers organized by The Newspaper Guild-CWA including the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Duluth News Tribune, Grand Forks Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, San Jose Mercury News, Akron Beacon Journal, and The Monterey County Herald.  From the start, our goal has been to facilitate a "worker friendly" buyout of these newspapers that have a combined employment of approximately 7,000 and a combined daily circulation of 1.3 million.  While we have been focused on the TNG-CWA unionized papers, our team will consider the entire package of twelve papers.

Today's announcement by McClatchy Co. does not change our commitment to pursuing our goal.  We believe that our team is a viable and credible acquirer of any and all of the newspapers that McClatchy has indicated it intends to sell and we look forward to the opportunity to discuss our interest with McClatchy.  Our effort enjoys the backing of The Yucaipa Companies of Los Angeles, the largest "worker friendly" fund in the nation, and the professional counsel of Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC of Chicago and Ownership Associates of Cambridge, MA. 

Further developments will be posted at www.knightridderwatch.org and www.valueplusmedia.com.