Denver Post

Mondo Times editors    Boulder Colorado USA

Posted at 3:24pm on Friday, March 5th, 2010

Denver Post Axes 22 Comics

Denver Westword reported on March 2, 2010:

"Nothing fires up newspaper readers like changes to the comics section.

That's something former Rocky Mountain News editor John Temple acknowledged in "The Funnies Aren't Funny Anymore," our 2007 state-of-the-art critique. And his words were borne out the next year, when the Rocky dared to toss "Garfield" in the litter box -- only to back off mere weeks later due to the volume of complaints from people still amused by thirty-year-old lasagna jokes.

The Denver Post played it safer when making changes this week. For one thing, its Monday announcement didn't mention the strips it had cut -- a whopping 22 in all. Moreover, it hung onto most of the longest running strips, with a few exceptions -- like the divisive cult fave "Zippy the Pinhead."

The full story:
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2010/03/zippy_the_pinhead_axed_--_alon.php

Mondo Times editors    Boulder Colorado USA

Posted at 9:18am on Friday, March 5th, 2010

Denver Post Parent Company Clears Bankruptcy Hurdle, the newspaper reported on March 5, 2010:

"Affiliated Media Inc., the holding company for Denver Post parent MediaNews Group, on Thursday cleared a necessary hurdle to completing its reorganization plan.

Judge Kevin J. Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved Affiliated's plan, a decision that allows Affiliated to exit Chapter 11 protection once a 14-day waiting period expires.

The restructuring plan, filed Jan. 22, reduces the company's debt from $930 million to $165 million and doesn't require a change of management or control.

Three objections to the plan emerged in the past week, but they weren't serious enough to derail it.

"We knew we had a good plan going in, and it had been approved by the lenders before it was filed," William Dean Singleton, chairman and chief executive of MediaNews Group, said in a statement. "We are pleased that it won confirmation, and that our company is now well-positioned for the changing days ahead."

The full story:
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14515955

Mondo Times editors    Boulder Colorado USA

Posted at 11:18am on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

MediaNews Group Bankruptcy Story Reads Differently in Denver

Denver's Westword newspaper reported on January 25, 2010:

"Clearly, anyone hoping for an unvarnished report about the MediaNews bankruptcy shouldn't expect to find one in the [Denver] Post, whose Friday article again managed to keep the B-word out of the headline ("Chapter 11" was used as a substitute). Fortunately, though, there's plenty of intriguing analysis being done, with the best I've found coming courtesy of Alan D. Mutter's Reflections of a Newsosaur blog.

For instance, a January 20 offering identifies the Hearst Corp. as the biggest loser in the filing -- Hearst forfeited $317 million in cash, as opposed to only paper losses by Singleton and his partner, Richard B. Scudder. According to Mutter, neither Singleton nor Scutter "will lose a nickel in the bankruptcy, because neither ever put any of his own money into the company."

Also of note: Mutter speculates that MediaNews Group could use the bankruptcy to bust up its existing joint-operating agreements. And in another essay, he dubs Singleton the "Evel Knievel of newspaper publishers" for his willingness to jump back into the fray even after sustaining enormous damage to his enterprises."

The full story:
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2010/01/medianews_group_bankruptcy_sto.php

Mondo Times editors    Boulder Colorado USA

Posted at 10:36am on Monday, January 18th, 2010

Denver Post Owner to Seek Bankruptcy Protection

IN Denver Times reported on January 16, 2010:

"The holding company of MediaNews Group Inc., the publisher of dozens of newspapers including the Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News, said Friday that it plans to seek bankruptcy protection, the latest in a string of troubled newspaper companies to seek refuge from creditors amid unsustainable debt loads.

The holding company, Affiliated Media Inc., said it reached an agreement with its lenders for a streamlined bankruptcy that will hand a majority of new stock to creditors, a group led by Bank of America Corp. The company’s existing equity will be canceled, the holding company said.

MediaNews Chairman and Chief Executive William Dean Singleton and company president Joseph Lodovic IV will control the restructured company through a special class of stock."

The full story:
http://www.indenvertimes.com/denver-post-owner-plans-to-seek-bankruptcy-protection/