By Terry Fiedler
Star Tribune
Published: 3/27/06
Excerpt:
University of St. Thomas ethics professor Ken Goodpaster plans to offer
this scenario for his students to discuss this week: What would you do
if you gained control of your chief competitor and had the opportunity
to choose the competitor's new owner? ...
Real-life
answers to this scenario are expected to be forthcoming as the Star
Tribune's parent company, the McClatchy Co., selects a buyer for the
St. Paul Pioneer Press. Bids for the Pioneer Press and 11 other Knight
Ridder daily newspapers that McClatchy controls are being taken today,
although McClatchy expects to take bids beyond that date.
The
Star Tribune's parent said that it will consider selling the 12
newspapers as a package but that it's more likely they'll be sold
individually or in small groups. The situation was set up when
McClatchy agreed earlier this month to acquire the 32 daily newspapers
of Knight Ridder for $6.5 billion but decided to keep only the 20 with
the best growth prospects and margins. The Pioneer Press has one of the
lowest operating profit margins in the Knight Ridder chain, about 10
percent, but it is on the block because of concerns about antitrust,
according to McClatchy. ...
"It's an interesting crossroads," said Bob Steele, a senior ethics
faculty member at the journalism think tank the Poynter Institute. "You
have to make some hard decisions about your own financial interests and
what you believe is reasonable for the communities."
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