Friday, April 11, 2008

MediaNews goes quiet

The Rocky Mountain News announced yesterday that MediaNews has reached an agreement with its lenders to institute an information blackout of the company's finances, and will no longer release financial information to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). The deal allows MediaNews to instead report directly to bondholders.

"We will no longer be posting our financial results to the MediaNews Group web site, effective immediately," Chief Financial Officer Ronald Mayo told me via e-mail.

In addition to concealing information on revenue, profits, and debt, the move will also hide ownership stakes for the company.

It's uncertain what this means for the company's future, but it's clearly ominous any time a business - much less a business ostensibly dedicated to the pursuit of the truth - suddenly begins hiding information from the public.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

MMMMMMM Wonder why? because the papers he owns are actually making money, just not enough, and he doesn't want the public to ask why he is cutting staff at each PROFITABLE !!! paper.

Very Un-American of him.

Anonymous said...

If things are as bad as industry claims, just open the books and let me have a peek

Anonymous said...

WASHINGTON After addressing the journalists gathered at the annual Associated Press luncheon in Washington, D.C., today, Sen. Barack Obama took a few questions. The last one from the audience, delivered via AP chairman W. Dean Singleton was related to how to troops to Iraq and the threat posed by, as Singleton put it, "Obama bin Laden."

Obama quickly corrected Singleton. “That’s Osama bin Laden,” he said. The crowd laughed a bit. "If I did that, I am so sorry," Singleton replied.