Philadelphia Daily News

Mondo Times editors    Boulder Colorado USA

Posted at 10:24am on Friday, February 5th, 2010

Philadelphia Newspapers' Creditors Win Round in Bankruptcy Case

The Philadelphia Daily News reported on February 5, 2010:

"The hedge funds holding most of the secured debt in the Daily News and Inquirer are not required to disclose what they paid for it, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled yesterday.

Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, the local investor group that has owned the papers since mid- 2006, immediately appealed the ruling to U.S. District Court.

"The details of transactions in the company's debt and specifically at what price it was and is being purchased . . . is directly relevant to the market value of the company," said Jay Devine, a spokesman for the owners.

Abid Qureshi, an attorney representing the hedge funds, disagreed, describing the dispute as an effort to dissuade the hedge funds from bidding for the newspapers in an auction expected later this year.

"What a lender might have paid for its debt six months ago, eight months ago, a year ago, has nothing at all to do with what the fair value of these assets is today," Qureshi said."

Mondo Times editors    Boulder Colorado USA

Posted at 9:07am on Friday, February 5th, 2010

Allmenus.com and Philly.com Partner to Launch New Online Section

New York and Philadelphia, February 4, 2010 -- Allmenus.com and philly.com have partnered to launch a new digital web service called "Allmenus on philly.com," dedicated exclusively to promoting and supporting Philadelphia-area restaurants. The initiative is supported through the promotional power of philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Philadelphia Daily News.

Allmenus.com is the country's largest and fastest growing online network of real-time restaurant menus and ordering, while philly.com is the Philadelphia region's leading source for online news with more than 81 million page views per month.

"By combining Allmenus' innovative product offerings with the tremendous media and promotional power philly.com possesses for building awareness, this partnership defines a new model for local commerce in Philadelphia and communities throughout the country," said Frank Blot, CEO of Allmenus.com.

"Readers get the added value of menus, restaurant discounts and online ordering with just a click of the finger," said Brian Tierney, CEO of Philadelphia Media Holdings, parent company of philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 3:15pm on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

March 2, 2009: Dave Davies of the Philadelphia Daily News reported that the newspaper will become a "labeled edition" of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"The Daily News will soon be printed as an edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, though the two papers will maintain separate news staffs and still compete for stories, officials of Philadelphia Media Holdings, which owns both papers announced yesterday.

Philadelphia Media Holdings CEO Brian Tierney said the change will save money on wire services by allowing the publications to act as a single subscriber, and will be helpful in selling advertising.

“Instead of telling advertisers we have 330,000 circulation (at the Inquirer) plus the Daily News, it will help to say we have 440,000 daily circulation,” Tierney said.

The Daily News will continue to be publish as a tabloid and will be sold separately, both to home subscribers and in street sales. “It’s not going to be combined. It’s not going to be changed,” Tierney said.

For the two papers to be regarded as a single publication by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, which monitors newspaper sales, the phrase “an edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer” will appear under the Daily News logo on the front page. The change takes effect March 30.

Daily News editor Michael Days said readers of the paper will keep getting the product they’re used to.

“Nothing is going to change about our passionate voices, about how we do what we do,” Days said. “We’ll be a unique edition of the Inquirer, and the emphasis is on the unique.”

Although the change comes just a week after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Daily News publisher Mark Frisby said the change has been under consideration for about a year."

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 12:07pm on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

February 23, 2009: Forbes magazine reported that the boss got a raise as the Philedelphia Daily News and Inquirer tanked:

"As the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News slid toward the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing it made over the weekend, one employee did well on the pay front: CEO Brian P. Tierney.

Documents filed Sunday by Philadelphia Newspapers LLC and seven affiliates said that the pay of Tierney, a public relations executive who put together the investment group that bought the paper from McClatchy (nyse: MNI) in June 2006 for $562 million, was boosted just two months ago by 38% to $850,000."