With strong rumbles that billionaire brothers Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch are among those interested in buying the Los Angeles Times, part of the Tribune Co., three Los Angeles City Council members ask colleagues to consider withdrawing city pension money from investment firms that own the newspaper if they sell the publication to buyers who do not support “professional and objective journalism,” notes Grumpy Editor.
As reported by Times staffer Catherine Saillant, councilman Bill Rosendahl declares, “Frankly what I hear about the Koch brothers, if it’s true, it’s the end of journalism. I don’t want to see Los Angeles, the second-largest city and the biggest region in the nation, not to have a quality newspaper.”
Other council members siding with Rosendahl are Dennis Zine and Eric Garcetti. Garcetti is running for mayor in a May 21 city election.
In recent national elections, the Koch brothers --- top executives of Koch Industries Inc., second largest privately-held company in the U.S. --- supplied financial support to libertarian candidates and causes.
The Tribune Co., which emerged from bankruptcy last year, owns eight newspapers, including The Times, and 23 television stations.
Concern over the Koch brothers comes at a time when The Times print subscriptions in the six months ended March 31 tumbled to 432,873, a low not seen in years.
Wall Street Journal remains tops in circulation
Alliance for Audited Media (formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations) reports average daily circulation for 593 U.S. newspapers reporting comparable averages for print and digital subscriptions slipped 0.7 percent for the six months ended March 31 vs. the like period a year ago.
AAM adds Sunday circulation for 519 newspapers reporting comparable data was down 1.4 percent.
Scorecard on the top five newspapers:
|
Newspaper Name |
|
Total Digital |
Total Average Circulation Excluding Branded |
Total Branded Editions Print & Digital |
Total Average Circulation |
Percent Change |
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
As of 03/31/13 |
As of 03/31/12 |
|
||||||
|
WALL STREET JOURNAL |
1,480,725 |
898,102 |
2,378,827 |
|
2,378,827 |
2,118,315 |
12.3% |
|
|
NEW YORK TIMES |
731,395 |
1,133,923 |
1,865,318 |
|
1,865,318 |
1,586,757 |
17.6% |
|
|
USA TODAY |
1,424,406 |
249,900 |
1,674,306 |
|
1,674,306 |
1,817,446 |
-7.9% |
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES |
432,873 |
177,720 |
610,593 |
43,275 |
653,868 |
616,575 |
6.0% |
|
|
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
360,459 |
155,706 |
516,165 |
|
516,165 |
579,636 |
-11.0% |
|
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