CBS Touts 'Vocal Opposition', 'Anxiety' Surrounding Koch Brothers' Possible Purchase of Newspapers
Friday's CBS This Morning played up the "vocal opposition"
of liberal activist groups who are railing against the possible sale of
several newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles
Times, to the libertarian Koch Brothers. Charlie Rose trumpeted that "critics fear politics could get in the way of journalism" if Koch Industries purchases the media outlets.
Jan Crawford underlined how "the rumors are causing anxiety and protests from unions, and liberal groups are seeking to block any sale to the Koch brothers. Some newspaper staffers also avowed they would quit, fearing the Koch brothers could impose their conservative slant to the news."
Rose teased Crawford's report with his "politics could get in the way
of journalism" line. He also noted in the lead-in for the segment that
"billionaire Warren Buffett paid more than $300 million to buy 28
newspapers. But now, two other billionaires may be looking at buying
some of the country's biggest papers, and that is leading to vocal
opposition."
The
CBS journalist spent the first part of her report revisiting the "glory
days" of Chicago newspapers, stating that "Chicago's newspaper
traditions are as colorful as the characters who filled the city's
newsrooms." She featured a clip from the 1931 film "The Front Page" –
"the classic newspaper movie set, naturally, in Chicago" – and continued
that Windy City's "real-life reporters and columnists are just as legendary, from movie critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, to Ann Landers."
Crawford then turned to the Tribune Company's possible sale of the
Chicago Tribune, as well as seven other publications. After zeroing in
on the "anxiety and protests" from liberals and journalists alike, she
turned to former Tribune editor Owen Youngman, who downplayed their
concerns:
OWEN YOUNGMAN, JOURNALISM PROFESSOR: In a very real way, who owns the
newspaper is not nearly as important to a city as it was 20, 50 –
certainly, a hundred years ago.
CRAWFORD: But Owen Youngman, a longtime editor at the Tribune who now
teaches journalism at Northwestern University, says his former
colleagues shouldn't fret about the Koch brothers.
YOUNGMAN: No individual owner is going to have the chance, I don't
think, to dominate public discourse the way that it might have been true
in the past.
CRAWFORD: Kogan also doubts anyone would actually quit. Newspaper jobs, these days, are scarce.
KOGAN: Reporters are not immune to...paranoia and hyperbole and
speculation, because they generally need to talk about something. I
cannot imagine any sort of mass exodus if these guys buy the paper.
Near the end of the segment, the correspondent noted that "Youngman
points out when Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal, it was a
great newspaper, and it's still a great newspaper today".
Anchor Norah O'Donnell added her two cents after Crawford's report: "Certainly,
a lot of people are watching, because they Koch brothers have spent
hundreds of millions of dollars trying to influence the political
process." When Rose again mentioned Buffett's newspaper
purchases ("Most of the papers Warren Buffett buys are in smaller
markets"), O'Donnell repeated her colleague's point about Murdoch's
purchase of the Wall Street Journal, with her co-anchor adding that the
media mogul "made it better in the judgement of many people, including
journalists."
The full transcript of Jan Crawford's report from Friday's CBS This Morning:
CHARLIE ROSE: Billionaire Warren Buffett paid more than $300 million to
buy 28 newspapers. But now, two other billionaires may be looking at
buying some of the country's biggest papers, and that is leading to
vocal opposition.
Jan Crawford is in Chicago. Jan, good morning.
JAN CRAWFORD: Well, good morning, Charlie; good morning, Norah. You
know, Chicago is famously known as the city of big shoulders, but at its
heart always were the newspapers. This was a great newspaper town, so
reports that the billionaire Koch brothers are interested in possibly
buying the Tribune and other newspapers across the country have some
people here wondering if this is the end of an era, or if that era – the
glory days of newspapers – ended a long time ago.
[CBS News Graphic: "Chicago Print Protest: Concerns Over Billionaires Interest In Newspaper"]
CRAWFORD (voice-over): Chicago's newspaper traditions are as colorful
as the characters who filled the city's newsrooms, going back to the
days of 'The Front Page'-
UNIDENTIFIED MAN 1 (from the 1931 movie "The Front Page"): I'm no stuffed shirt writing peanut ads. I'm a newspaper man!
CRAWFORD: The classic newspaper movie set, naturally, in Chicago. The
real-life reporters and columnists are just as legendary, from movie
critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, to Ann Landers and, of course, the
voice of the city, chain-smoking, booze-drinking Mike Royko.
RICK KOGAN, CHICAGO AUTHOR: This – in this era, is when the newspaper was the heart and soul of a city.
CRAWFORD: Rick Kogan is a longtime newspaper man, a fixture in Chicago
and at the Billy Goat Tavern, where journalists used to gather and where
we talked this week about the glory days.
CRAWFORD (on-camera): It seems like newspapers are just such an integral part of what Chicago is.
KOGAN: In this town, more than any other, newspapers became almost like a part of the family.
CRAWFORD (voice-over): But now, there are reports the family could soon
change, as Tribune Company considers whether to sell the flagship
newspaper and seven others nationwide, including the Los Angeles Times.
The company emerged from bankruptcy in December, and says all its media
properties are profitable. But these have been dark days for daily
newspapers. The Rocky Mountain News and Cincinnati Post closed. The New
Orleans Times-Picayune and Birmingham News now are published only three
days a week.
Among those reportedly interested in the Tribune papers are
billionaires Charles and David Koch, businessmen also known for
supporting conservative causes-
UNIDENTIFIED MALE ANNOUNCER (from Americans for Prosperity ad): The fastest rate of job creation-
CRAWFORD: Including spending hundreds of millions of dollars for
Republican candidates. Koch Industries won't confirm whether or not it's
exploring the purchase, and the Tribune Company is says only, 'There is
a lot of interest in our newspapers, which we haven't solicited.'
Still,
the rumors are causing anxiety and protests from unions, and liberal
groups are seeking to block any sale to the Koch brothers. Some
newspaper staffers also avowed they would quit, fearing the Koch
brothers could impose their conservative slant to the news.
OWEN YOUNGMAN, JOURNALISM PROFESSOR: In a very real way, who owns the
newspaper is not nearly as important to a city as it was 20, 50 –
certainly, a hundred years ago.
CRAWFORD: But Owen Youngman, a longtime editor at the Tribune who now
teaches journalism at Northwestern University, says his former
colleagues shouldn't fret about the Koch brothers.
YOUNGMAN: No individual owner is going to have the chance, I don't
think, to dominate public discourse the way that it might have been true
in the past.
CRAWFORD: Kogan also doubts anyone would actually quit. Newspaper jobs, these days, are scarce.
KOGAN: Reporters are not immune to – to – you know, paranoia and
hyperbole and speculation, because they generally need to talk about
something. I cannot imagine any sort of mass exodus if these guys buy
the paper.
CRAWFORD (live): Now, Youngman and others make the point that the media
is so diffused now, with the Internet and other sources of media, that
the owners of a newspaper just don't have the same impact that they used
to, and there's really no indication yet that the Koch brothers, if
they bought these papers, would try to change things. Youngman points
out when Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal, it was a great
newspaper, and it's still a great newspaper today. Charlie and Norah?
O'DONNELL: Jan Crawford, thank you. I saw David Koch recently. I asked
him if he was going to buy the paper. He said no comment.
ROSE: Yes-
O'DONNELL: But certainly, a lot of people are watching, because they
Koch brothers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to
influence the political process.
ROSE: Most of the papers Warren Buffett buys are in smaller markets.
O'DONNELL: Yes. And then, of course, Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal and-
ROSE: And made it better in the judgement of many people, including journalists.
