By Louis Hau
Forbes.com
12/4/2006
Excerpt:
... It's a familiar refrain in many newsrooms: The St. Petersburg Times
and its owner, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, provide a
shining example of how a newspaper can be run without corporate bean
counters ruling the day. The Times is a for-profit
enterprise, but Poynter is not. That means the paper is better equipped
to get through difficult financial times without having to resort to
the slash-and-burn tactics all too commonly deployed by newspapers
owned by publicly traded media companies. As a result, beleaguered
industry veterans longingly turn their collective gaze to the Times and Poynter for inspiration. ...
... Keep in mind that even Nelson Poynter's foresight and generosity weren't enough to secure his wish that the St. Petersburg Times
remain in local hands. In 1988, Texas billionaire Robert M. Bass
stunned the paper by purchasing 40% of Times Publishing's voting stock
from Poynter's nieces. Then Bass launched an unsolicited takeover bid
for the rest of the company and sued it in an effort to increase his
share of its dividend payments. Times Publishing rejected Bass' offer
and, after a protracted battle, bought back Bass' stake for $56 million.
Today, the Poynter Institute owns 100% of Times Publishing, ensuring the Times'
future independence. ...
... It's
worth noting that Barnes, his predecessor Eugene Patterson and his
successor Paul Tash have all been career journalists and former Times
editors committed to maintaining the quality, independence and local
ownership of the newspaper. The paper's five Pulitzer Prizes since 1980
speak to the tradition of excellence they've nurtured over the years.
