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Members of labor unions and activists protested outside the Los Angeles headquarters of Oaktree Capital Management Tuesday to protest a possible sale of Tribune Co.’s newspapers to the billionaires Charles and David Koch. Oaktree has a large stake in Tribune Co.
“Our understanding is that, contrary to recent press reports, Tribune has made no decision to sell the Los Angeles Times or its other newspapers,” Oaktree said in a prepared statement. Koch Industries told Times reporter Walter Hamilton that stories about its interest in the newspapers are “pure speculation.”
Kathleen Miles reports that musician Ry Cooder performed an anti-Koch song at the protest with the lyrics “Don’t sell out to the Koch brothers / Don’t let the brothers in the door/ We don’t want them taking over / That is what we’re marching for,” a rewrite of “I Don’t Want Your Millions, Mister.”
Cooder has previously recorded a song in which the Koch brothers make a deal with Satan.
California Common Cause Executive Director Kathay Feng told Miles that protesters will converge on the home of Oaktree president and Tribune chair Bruce Karsh on May 23. “He’s the one who will make the decision,” Feng told Miles. “So we’re taking the message to his doorstep.”
An anti-Koch protest in Chicago last week drew about 22 people, Ashley Boncimino reported.
Previously: More groups organize against the Koch brothers buying Tribune’s newspapers | Why news will survive the Koch brothers | Los Angeles Times journalists chafe at possible Koch ownership
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