USA TODAY: …”For most newspapers in the United States,” Buffett said at the 2009 meeting, “we would not buy them at any price. They face the potential of unending losses.” …
But despite his diagnosis, Buffett did not simply walk away from the industry. As stock prices declined, Buffett’s finely tuned radar for value must have started beeping, and he guided Berkshire Hathaway through the purchases of several dozen local newspapers from around the country, with a heavy concentration in the southeast following a deal with Media General…
Buffett explained, “If you want to know what’s going on in your town — whether the news is about the mayor or taxes or high school football — there is no substitute for a local newspaper that is doing its job. A reader’s eyes may glaze over after they take in a couple of paragraphs about Canadian tariffs or political developments in Pakistan; a story about the reader himself or his neighbors will be read to the end. Wherever there is a pervasive sense of community, a paper that serves the special informational needs of that community will remain indispensable to a significant portion of its residents.” … (more)
EDITOR: There isn’t anything new in the above report. Rather it represents the desperation of editors for copy during this time of news lag.
However, it does stir us to comment that our prior pessimistic predictions that the Lancaster newspapers may not be producing print editions in a decade may have been inaccurate.
While jarring at the outset, their emphasis on local news and sound editorial commentary may be the right ticket. If someone wants state news and local commentary, let them come to NewsLanc. If they want national and international emphasis, there is the New York Times. It can even be timely delivered to your driveway.
The most obvious problem with the Lancaster Newspapers is they have been snake bitten when it comes to the Convention Center Project. The poison continues to spread as needs to rescue its Marriott investment and prop up the Center causes it to turn a blind eye to faulty downtown redevelopment plans. LNP remains a prisoner to pass folly.
