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New
York Times
Conservative
Koch Brothers Turning Focus to Newspapers
Supporters
of libertarian causes, held a seminar of like-minded,
wealthy political donors at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, Colo. They
laid out
a three-pronged, 10-year strategy to shift the country toward a smaller
government with less regulation and taxes.
The
first two pieces of the strategy — educating grass-roots
activists and influencing politics — were not surprising, given the
money they
have given to policy institutes and political action groups. But the
third one
was: media.
Other
than financing a few fringe libertarian publications, the
Kochs have mostly avoided media investments. Now, Koch Industries, the
sprawling private company of which Charles G. Koch serves as chairman
and chief
executive, is exploring a bid to buy the Tribune Company’s eight
regional
newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The
Baltimore
Sun, The Orlando Sentinel and The Hartford Courant.
By
early May, the Tribune Company is expected to send financial
data to serious suitors in what will be among the largest sales of
newspapers
by circulation in the country. Koch Industries is among those
interested, said
several people with direct knowledge of the sale who spoke on the
condition
they not be named. Tribune emerged from bankruptcy on Dec. 31 and has
hired
JPMorgan Chase and Evercore Partners to sell its print properties.
The
papers, valued at roughly $623 million, would be a financially
diminutive deal for Koch Industries, the energy and manufacturing
conglomerate
based in Wichita, Kan., with annual revenue of about $115 billion.
Politically,
however, the papers could serve as a broader platform
for the Kochs’ laissez-faire ideas. The Los Angeles Times is the
fourth-largest
paper in the country, and The Tribune is No. 9, and others are in
several
battleground states, including two of the largest newspapers in
Florida, The
Orlando Sentinel and The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. A deal could
include
Hoy, the second-largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, which speaks
to the
pivotal Hispanic demographic.
One
person who attended the Aspen seminar who spoke on the
condition of anonymity described the strategy as follows: “It was never
‘How do
we destroy the other side?’ ”
“It
was ‘How do we make sure our voice is being heard?’ ”
Guests
at the Aspen seminar included Philip F. Anschutz, the
Republican oil mogul who owns the companies that publish The Washington
Examiner, The Oklahoman and The Weekly Standard, and the hedge fund
executive
Paul E. Singer, who sits on the board of the political magazine
Commentary.
Attendees were asked not to discuss details about the seminar with the
press.
A
person who has attended other Koch Industries seminars, which
have taken place since 2003, says Charles and David Koch have never
said they
want to take over newspapers or other large media outlets, but they
often say
“they see the conservative voice as not being well represented.” The
Kochs plan
to host another conference at the end of the month, in Palm Springs,
Calif…
Read
the rest of the article at The New York
Times
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