Bank of America will now own 88% of the San Jose Mercury News, Denver Post, et al.

[Newsjock]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/22/financial/f140239S92.DTL

The owner of The Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News and 52 other daily newspapers filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, joining the procession of publishers choking on too much debt.

... The plan calls for Affiliated Media's debt to fall to $179 million from $930 million, according to a person familiar with some of the additional bankruptcy documents expected to be filed late Friday. This person wasn't authorized to discuss them before they were filed.

In exchange for this $751 million concession, a group of lenders led by Bank of America will take control of the company with 88 percent of the stock. The remaining 12 percent goes to MediaNews' management team, which is led by William Dean Singleton, who is also chairman of The Associated Press. The MediaNews executives will receive warrants that eventually could boost their combined stakes to 20 percent.

... At least 14 U.S. newspaper publishers have now filed for bankruptcy protection in the past 13 months.

[niyad]

1. well, guess I won't be renewing my subscription to DP then. NOT supproting BOA

[Hawkeye-X]

4. DP is the only paper in town..

Rocky Mountain News should have NOT folded, but rather slowly converted to e-newspaper.

[KamaAina]

2. The Merc, once one of the best, has already become a cat box liner

since it passed from Knight-Ridder to Affiliated. :puke:

What's worse, that's the whole "Bay Area News Group", basically every paper around here that isn't the SF Chron (Hearst) or Marin Independent-Journal (Gannett). (The "SF Examiner") doesn't count.) The Oakland Tribune, COntra Costa Times, etc., are involved, too. :(

[Newsjock]

3. Marin I-J has already fallen to MediaNews

The Chronicle is the only major paid daily in the area that isn't published by MediaNews / Affiliated / BANG / whatever they call it today.