lee enterprises
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all of lee' s holdings are linked under a new corporate umbrella, lee enterprises inc .
news organization lee enterprises plans to purchase an illinois newspaper that serves parts of the quad cities .
lee enterprises reports earnings slump ,
billings gazette, july 25, 1991, p. c7 .
montana magazine purchased by lee enterprises ,
missoulian, may 1, 1994, p. b2 .
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lee enterprises said berkshire hathaway hired it to run its newspaper and digital operations in 30 markets starting next week .
lee enterprises inc. said tuesday it would manage berkshire hathaway' s newspaper and digital operations in 30 markets, beginning july 2 .
lee enterprises offers very good benefits. lee is a great company to work for with a friendly environment. world class customer service. room for personal growth and moving up in the company .
lee enterprises (nyse: lee) stock was flying high on tuesday on news of a deal with berkshire hathaway (nyse: brk. a, brk. b). source: shutterstock
some say pulitzer inc.' s sale to lee enterprises blew in quicker than a shotgun wedding. others saw it coming a mile away .
lee is based in davenport, iowa, and our stock is traded on the new york stock exchange under the symbol lee .
is berkshire hathaway smart or behind the times? will be passing the reins of its bh media group to lee enterprises inc. the company will still own the the media conglomerate, but lee will be in charge of management .
we don' t know much about lee enterprises ,
understates newspaper analyst john morton .
they don' t stand out in any historical way .
lee enterprises, which owns the missoulian and several other newspapers and magazines in montana, has purchased independent publishing, including the missoula independent, the region' s alternative weekly .
lee enterprises is a leading provider of local news, information and advertising in 48 markets in 21 states, with daily newspapers, rapidly growing digital products and nearly 300 specialty publications .
lee enterprises is a leading provider of local news, information and advertising in 50 markets in 22 states, with daily newspapers, rapidly growing digital products and nearly 300 specialty publications .
lee enterprises, incorporated (lee), has joined with bh media group, inc, in an agreement for lee to manage berkshire hathaway’s newspaper and digital operations in 30 markets, beginning july 2, 2018. the agreement provides lee with flexibility to implement revenue initiatives and business transformation consistent with how it manages its own newspaper and digital operations in 49 markets, while berkshire hathaway continues as owner of bh media .
mike gulledge, vice president – publishing at lee enterprises, said both papers will remain editorially independent. the news coverage from each paper will remain separate, as will the advertising operations .
still, news of the sale to lee came as a shock to some, and left industry wonks scratching their heads .
so much for my prescience ,
marvels veteran newspaper analyst john morton, founder of morton research .
nowhere did lee enterprises figure .
lee discusses digital growth, strong local audiences at j. p. morgan conference
the firm is organized as a holding company under the name lee syndicate co .
“the dispatch - argus is a perfect strategic fit for lee, ” lee president and ceo kevin mowbray said in a statement. “it is adjacent to two of our iowa enterprises, in davenport and muscatine, so this will expand our audiences and create additional synergy opportunities. ”
i said that in my many years with lee i had never seen any “overt attempts at corporate dictation, or even of political collusion among several lee papers. ”
in my prairie lights column this sunday, i wrote about the same - day endorsements of u. s. house candidate greg gianforte in three montana daily newspapers, all of them owned by lee enterprises .
adler died in 1949 after 42 years of leadership, and loomis assumed the presidency. in 1950, all of lee' s holding were linked under a new corporate umbrella, lee enterprises, incorporated. the company was reorganized, and some of its newspapers were consolidated. in 1953, lee' s first television station, khqa - tv, began broadcasting to hannibal and quincy, illinois. one year later, lee started kglo - tv in mason city, iowa. loomis viewed the jump into television as a means of capturing the advertising market share that was shifting away from newspapers. he also continued to emphasize growth of lee' s core publications divisions. just before retiring in 1960, loomis oversaw the buyout of six montana newspapers for $ 6 million. also in 1960, all of lee' s holdings were officially consolidated under lee enterprises inc .
by buying up loans in recently bankrupt lee enterprises inc. , warren buffett’s berkshire hathaway had also purchased an over 4% stake in the company, according to bankruptcy documents and a person familiar with the matter .
also during the 4th quarter, the company announced the elimination of 120 positions in its 15 - station television division. many of the positions impacted were at television properties emmis purchased in october 2000 from lee enterprises, and involve the natural integration and the strategic reallocation of resources from lee management to emmis management .
, because of its size and history, will be a hot paper for lee .
the founder of the publishing venture that would become lee enterprises, a. w. lee, was shaped by his conservative midwestern upbringing. soon after marrying, lee' s parents moved from philadelphia to iowa city and became pioneer farmers. his mother abandoned her quaker roots, and his father left behind a family that was well placed in society. lee was exposed to both a strict upbringing and the newspaper business during his childhood. besides working as a bookkeeper for the muscatine journal, lee' s father, john b. lee, enjoyed writing and kept a detailed diary of the family' s affairs. even after his childhood, lee would be exposed to his father' s stern business ethics and attention to detail while working under him as a bookkeeper .
efforts by staffers at the missoula independent to organize under lee enterprises gained the support of the state’s largest labor union on tuesday, with the mea - mft saying it is watching the process closely. (more…) continue reading →
davenport, iowa, april 26, 2018 - - lee enterprises, incorporated, a major provider of local news, information and advertising in 49 markets, has scheduled an audio webcast and conference call for thursday, ...
warren buffett' s company has hired lee enterprises to manage the mostly smaller newspapers it has acquired since 2011 in 30 different markets. lee said tuesday it expects to collect $ 50 million in fees from the five - year agreement that should help bh media group' s newspapers reduce costs .
in addition to the primary benefit of deploying lee' s successful strategies at bh media, this alliance provides a significant expansion of operating scale, adding 30 markets to our own 49 ,
lee president kevin mowbray said .
lee enterprises is a leading provider of local news, information and advertising in primarily midsize markets, with 46 daily newspapers and a joint interest in two others, along with rapidly growing digital products and nearly 300 specialty publications in 21 states .
here’s some good news about all the bad news regarding lee enterprises, the iowa - based newspaper chain that owns the billings gazette and other newspapers in montana. employees at the lee - owned casper star - tribune are trying to unionize, according to a story by corey hutchins at the columbia journalism review. (more…) continue reading →
davenport, iowa, may 03, 2018 - - lee enterprises, incorporated, a major provider of local news, information and advertising in 49 markets, today reported earnings of $ 2. 5 million for its second fiscal quarter ...
lee closes purchase of oregon newspaper group ,
wisconsin state journal, september 10, 1997 .
ronald a. mayo, vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of lee enterprises, incorporated (lee), has announced he is resigning and returning to denver, colorado, for family considerations. mr. mayo, who has been on medical leave since april, said: “since joining lee in 2015, i have been commuting between davenport and denver. kevin mowbray, lee president and chief executive officer, said: “ron has been a key member of our executive team, overseeing finance, i. t. , production and investor relations .
says retired post reporter roy malone :
through the guild contract, all employees get a healthcare plan, even the retirees. but we all expect to get a letter from lee enterprises saying they can' t afford our healthcare any more .
staffers at the missoula independent took the first step this week in forming a union to preserve the paper’s independence under the ownership of lee enterprises, a corporate chain that owns five other papers in montana, including the missoulian. (more…) continue reading →
lee' s newspapers have circulation of 0. 9 million daily and 1. 4 million sunday, reaching more than three million readers daily. lee' s digital sites attract more than 25 million unique visits monthly .
lloyd g. schermer became president of lee in 1973. the 46 - year - old schermer started with lee in 1954 after receiving his masters degree in business administration from harvard university. he moved from an advertising position to publisher of a lee newspaper by 1961. schermer was an avid outdoorsman and, like all of the lee presidents before him, played a very active leadership role in local and regional volunteer programs. schermer also emphasized reporting and broadcasting integrity as an integral tenet of the lee enterprises philosophy, and he sustained the steady expansion and acquisition activity that had made lee a regional media contender. the first lee purchase under schermer' s direction was kgmb - tv of honolulu, hawaii, in 1976. lee also picked up koin - tv in portland, oregon, in 1977, and purchased the bismarck tribune (north dakota) in 1978. in 1979, and 1980, moreover, the company acquired newspapers in illinois and minnesota. acquisitions of tv stations in new mexico, arizona, and nebraska followed in 1985 and 1986 .
after lee bought the paper, there were a lot more resources ,
says ken ma, who until recently worked as a reporter at the lee - owned north county times, which serves north san diego county .
i wanted to write stories that were more readable. lee wanted us to move in that direction .
in 1937, lee purchased its first broadcasting unit, kglo, a radio station in mason city, iowa. in 1941, it purchased interests in a nebraska station, and in 1944 lee bought wtad, of quincy, illinois. lee' s extension into the broadcasting industry was led by lee p. loomis, who had started with lee in 1902 as a farm - to - farm subscription solicitor. loomis was a nephew of a. w. lee and had worked his way up to become publisher of one of lee' s newspapers. adler had disagreed with loomis about whether or not the company should get into radio but relented under the condition that the investments begin to show a profit within two years. despite several hurdles, loomis achieved profitability in radio. lee' s radio holdings were eventually jettisoned, however, in response to federal communication commission requirements regarding simultaneous ownership of radio and newspaper concerns .
cross, wilbur, lee' s legacy of leadership, essex, conn. : greenwich publishing group, 1990 .
in october 2000, the lee enterprises television group, including koin, was purchased by emmis communications. on january 27, 2006, emmis sold koin (along with khon - tv / honolulu, ksnt / topeka, and ksnw / wichita) to montecito broadcast group for $ 259 million .
principal subsidiaries: lee procurement solutions company; lee publications inc. ; sioux city newspapers; journal star printing company; lee consolidated holdings company; accudata inc. ; lint company; target marketing systems inc. ; k. falls basin publishing inc. ; madison newspapers inc. (50 %); inn partners l. c. (81 %) .
post - dispatch publisher terrance c. z. egger (left) and pulitzer inc. president and ceo robert woodworth announce the sale of the company to lee enterprises, inc. sec filings indicate that egger holds roughly $ 9. 3 million in pulitzer stock, woodworth an estimated $ 25 million .
lee enterprises inc. shares surged 56% in premarket trade tuesday, after the company said it is teaming up with bh media group inc. to manage berkshire hathaway inc.' s newspaper and digital operations in 30 markets, effective july 2. under the terms of the deal, berkshire will remain owner of bh media, but lee will be able to implement revenue initiatives and other strategies that are in line with how it manages its own papers. davenport, iowa - based lee has nearly 300 weekly and specialty publications serving 49 markets in 21 states .
the pulitzer purchase has the potential to deliver something else to lee: respect. the company may have a genius for turning a buck, but historically lee' s cupboard has been pretty bare when it comes to that other journalistic currency, the award .
news publisher lee enterprises inc. said tuesday it will manage dozens of daily and weekly newspapers owned by warren buffett’s berkshire hathaway inc. beginning july 2. davenport, iowa - based lee, which owns newspapers and other print products in 21 states, said it will implement revenue strategies consistent with how it manages its own operations. berkshire will continue to own the newspapers, which are currently held in a unit called bh media group inc .
steinberg, brian ,
lee thinks small to achieve big things ,
wall street journal, march 27, 2002, b5 .
^
lee enteprises buys rest of koin - tv stock
. the oregonian, april 29, 1977, p. 1 .
when michael pulitzer announced that pulitzer inc. had been sold to iowa - based lee enterprises, inc. , the news sounded more like a storybook wedding than a $ 1. 46 billion business deal .
lee and pulitzer share similar cultures and values ,
pulitzer stated in a january 30 press release .
[ w ] e couldn' t have found a better steward to continue pulitzer' s 125 - year legacy of journalistic excellence .
“the industry’s economic fortunes have changed for the worse since the ‘great recession’ of 2008. corporate ownership by publicly - traded companies like gannett, gatehouse, mcclatchy and lee enterprises (which owns this newspaper) has become the norm. independent and family - owned newspapers with deep roots in their local communities are disappearing from the landscape .
asked whether the acquisition would result in staff reductions, a lee spokesman said the company does not comment on staffing levels at individual newspapers .
lee enterprises recently implemented another round of staff cuts at its montana newspapers, including the billings gazette, the largest newspaper in the state. at the gazette, it appears that at least seven people were laid off or agreed to take buyouts in recent weeks, including up to three people in the newsroom. (more…) continue reading →
warren buffett’s berkshire hathaway inc. struck a deal for lee enterprises inc. to manage its newspapers in 30 markets as the billionaire seeks a way to grapple with falling revenue in the media industry. berkshire will pay lee to manage the papers and work to transform the businesses in exchange for an annual fee of $ 5 million plus a percentage of profits above benchmarks over five years, lee said tuesday in a statement. terry kroeger is stepping down as chief executive officer of bh media group, which controls some of berkshire’s papers, according to the omaha world - herald, one of the companies included in the deal .
new york, ny / accesswire / june 27, 2018 / lendingtree closed down over 8% on tuesday despite any catalyst. earlier this month the company completed its acquisition of credit service provider ovation credit services. shares of lee enterprises were gaining steam after announcing that it has been hired by warren buffett' s berkshire hathaway to manage its newspapers .
in my prairie lights column this sunday, i wrote about the same - day endorsements of u. s. house candidate greg gianforte in three montana daily newspapers, all of them owned by lee enterprises. i said that in my many years with lee i had never seen any “overt attempts at corporate dictation, or even of political collusion among several lee papers. ” i hope it was clear that my reference to corporate dictation referred only to matters of political endorsements and such. in other matters—those that most closely affect readers—there was never - ending corporate control, and apparently it’s only getting worse. in a remarkable good - bye column published friday, chris rush announced to readers of the world, a lee - owned newspaper in coos bay, ore. , that he was stepping down as publisher. continue reading →
but then suddenly it veers off into territory that most likely has never been explored before in a lee newspaper. if any other employee of a lee newspaper had tried to put this stuff in his or her good - bye column, i’m sure the publisher would have killed it. but when you’re the publisher…
and the announcement quotes mike gulledge, publisher of the billings gazette and the missoulian and also the overseer of lee newspapers in multiple states, including oregon .
johnson, charles s. ,
lee publishers, governor deny making sales - tax deal ,
missoulian, may 25, 1993, p. b1 .
lee enterprises inc. is a leading newspaper publisher of daily newspapers in mid - size markets found in the pacific northwest, midwest, and northeastern united states. it owns and has stakes in approximately 45 newspapers that have a combined circulation of 1. 1 million daily and 1. 2 million sunday. the company also publishes nearly 200 weekly newspapers, shoppers, and classified and specialty publications, and maintains web sites for many of its papers. lee sold off its broadcast holdings in 2000 in order to focus on its core printing and publishing operations .
adler ran lee syndicate until 1947. during that period he perpetuated a. w. lee' s legacy of ethical reporting and community service. in addition, he sustained efforts to expand the company by acquiring other newspapers and improving their performance. in 1915, he purchased the democrat, a davenport, iowa, newspaper. by 1930, he had added five newspapers to the lee fold, including publications in nebraska and illinois. the firm was organized as a holding company in 1928 under the name lee syndicate company before postponing its acquisition activity during the depression years. when it did resume expansion efforts, adler took the company in a new direction .
murphy, h. lee .
peapod' s single - market profit seen as signal event .
crain' s chicago business, may 28, 2001 .
three new board members have been appointed: mary junck, executive chairman of lee enterprises, an american newspaper publisher that owns some 54 daily papers and in 2013 went through its own recapitalization following a bankruptcy and subsequent bailout by billionaire warren buffet’s berkshire hathaway; american media inc. ceo david pecker, whose company owns and publishes celebrity and lifestyle publications including the national enquirer; and hr executive daniel rotstein .
it' s a strategy that has served lee well, allowing the company to reap a net income of $ 86 million from its combined operations this past fiscal year .
marks, mitchell lee. 2003. charging back up the hill: workplace recovery after mergers, acquisitions, and down - sizings. san francisco: jossey - bass .
so perhaps it is a marriage of equals: lee brings the brawn, pulitzer the brains .
lee admires what the pulitzer family has done for journalism in st. louis and throughout the united states ,
junck was quoted as saying in a february 1 post article. the comment put a more genteel slant on her earlier, fresh - from - the - bargaining - table assessment: that pulitzer was
another terrific acquisition for lee... in both order of magnitude and revenue growth opportunities .
“the thing that alt weeklies bring to the community, where they’re strong and vibrant, is they often push the daily or major outlets on stories they feel might not be covered correctly, ” he said. “it’s an alternative check on what the media is doing as much as they are on what the government is doing. so when they take the missoulian on, will lee (enterprises) be ok with that? ”
lee banville, an associate professor at the university of montana’s school of journalism, said it’s not unprecedented for a daily paper to buy a so - called “alt weekly. ”
in addition to expanding lee' s holdings, schermer drew on his harvard - taught management techniques to whip the company' s organizational structure into shape and boost its operating efficiency. like a. w. lee and his successors, schermer believed in a relatively high level of autonomy for lee' s division managers, who knew better than central management how to serve their local markets. however, schermer brought a new emphasis on productivity to the company. augmenting his technical style was a penchant for taking calculated risks. schermer came from a family of entrepreneurs and was not afraid to test new waters at lee. in 1983, for example, schermer initiated call - it co. as a subsidiary of lee. research and development of the innovative venture, which was inspired by schermer' s interest in the ballooning market for telecommunications services, continued into the early 1990s .
madison newspapers inc. , publishes the wisconsin state journal and the capital times. mni also publishes the daily citizen in beaver dam, the baraboo news republic, the portage daily register and the shawano leader, as well as other publications in wisconsin. lee enterprises owns 50% of madison newspapers inc. and supplies news and editorial content for the wisconsin state journal. the capital times company oversees news and editorial content of the capital times .
despite lee' s financial successes, the newspaper industry, as well as most other media sectors, encountered setbacks during the economic recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s. as the economy slumped, advertising revenues sagged. furthermore, the newspaper industry, which accounted for the bulk of lee' s sales, was struggling under the pressure of increased competition from electronic media. fortunately, lee was able to endure the downturn unscathed, unlike many of its industry peers. its stability was largely a result of geography: most of its holdings were located in the economically healthy upper midwest. nevertheless, lee' s net income slipped to $ 31. 5 million in 1991 before buoying back up to about $ 39 million in 1992 .
london, uk / accesswire / june 28, 2018 / if you want access to our free research report on lee enterprises, inc. (nyse: lee), all you need to do is sign up now by clicking the following link urltoken as the company' s latest news hit the wire. on june 26, 2018, the company announced that it has signed an agreement with bh media group, inc. to manage berkshire hathaway inc. (nyse: brk - a, brk - b)' s newspapers and digital operations in 30 markets. bh media is a company owned by billionaire investor warren buffett' s berkshire hathaway .
by 1990, the year of its 100th anniversary, lee was operating 19 newspapers in small - to medium - sized towns and six television stations broadcasting to 13 states. it also owned and operated in excess of 30 specialty publications, most of which were magazine - like weeklies in the upper midwest that carried classified advertisements. in addition, the company operated four printing facilities, napp systems inc. , and voice response, inc. (call - it co .). despite heavy borrowing to feed its capital - intensive expansion program, the company was financially healthy and had succeeded in minimizing its debt load. indeed, by 1990 lee enterprises was raking in $ 287 million annually and capturing $ 44 million per year in net income. as a result of its 1990 acquisitions, moreover, lee' s revenues leapt to $ 346 million .
adler served as president of lee for ten years, during which he continued to increase its operations and holdings. in 1960, for example, keyc - tv of mankato, minnesota, began broadcasting. in 1967, the company moved all of its newspaper and broadcasting divisions to a new corporate headquarters in davenport, and in 1969 lee made its first public stock offering to raise cash for a new round of acquisitions. shortly thereafter, lee bought the journal times in racine, wisconsin, and the corvallis gazette - times of corvallis, oregon. it also completed the acquisition of a few newspapers in which it held a partial interest. by the time adler retired in 1970, lee was a diversified radio, television, and newspaper company active in ten midwestern and western states .
recognizing the potential to improve and then profit from other holdings, lee bought his old hometown newspaper, the muscatine journal, from his brother - in - law in 1903. in 1907, he picked up the hannibal courier - post, a newspaper in nearby missouri, and the la crosse tribune in wisconsin, which was just north of lee' s iowa operations. lee achieved gains with those papers similar to those he had enjoyed with the daily times. his recipe for success was relatively straightforward: find a newspaper with promise in a small - to medium - sized town, increase its circulation and advertising sales, and hire an astute manager to operate it. an important element of lee' s strategy was management autonomy. the management team of each of his papers was allowed to run the organization almost as though it was their own business. lee believed that each publication should be financially independent and should not rely on resources from his other holdings to support it .
debbie bosanek, an assistant to mr. buffett, denied that berkshire received more than 4% of lee’s shares through the purchase of the loans. she declined to specify how many shares the firm received .
the one thing the second story does not mention is chris rush. that’s right, just two days after he announced he was leaving, lee publishes a story about rush’s successor while failing to mention rush’s name .
before lee took a job with his father at the muscatine journal, he distinguished himself at the age of 13 by being the youngest student ever admitted to the state university of iowa. while he excelled at mathematics, lee knew at that early age that he wanted to pursue a career related to writing and editing. he was an admirer of the writings of ralph waldo emerson and always carried small pocket books of emerson' s essays wherever he went. lee subscribed to emerson' s motto
trust thyself ,
which meant that individuals could improve their lives if they believed strongly in what they were doing and what they wanted to achieve .
ma notes that under lee' s ownership, his paper sent a reporter and photographer to iraq on three separate occasions - - quite a feat for a paper with a reported daily circulation of roughly 93, 000 .
as lee slowly added new radio and television holdings to its portfolio during the early 1990s, its balance sheet began to reflect the economic recovery. sales swelled to $ 373 million in 1993 as net income rose to about $ 41 million. furthermore, the company anticipated receipts of about $ 400 million during 1994 based on surging sales early in the year. under gottlieb' s direction, lee was beginning to eye new markets for growth, such as farm magazines, book publishing, and electronic multi - media opportunities. in addition, lee' s napp subsidiary had developed and was selling a breakthrough photosensitive polymer printing plate that was receiving widespread market acceptance .
encouraged by the growth of the daily courier, lee began seeking a way to expand his publishing operations near the turn of the century. in 1899, he purchased the davenport times, whose name he changed to the daily times, thus initiating a newspaper syndicate. he sent an associate and long - time muscatine journal employee, e. p. adler, to help run the new concern. lee had considered a number of potential acquisitions but selected the davenport times because of its solid reputation, untapped readership potential, and advertising opportunities. it was soon clear that lee' s perception of the publication' s potential was correct, as readership and revenues climbed .
“i’m excited to bring the independent and its talented staff under lee’s umbrella, ” said gibson. “together, we’ll maximize our resources to deliver strong local reporting, and we’ll offer unbeatable audience reach and marketing savvy for advertisers. ”
from 1999 to 2003, woodworth earned more than $ 19 million in salary, stock awards, options and bonuses. according to pulitzer' s 2004 proxy statement filed with the sec, he holds more than $ 25 million worth of stock in the company - - and that' s to say nothing of stock awards, salary or bonuses he received last year and in relation to the company' s sale. by comparison, mary junck, woodworth' s counterpart at lee enterprises, reported her total compensation for 2003 at roughly $ 4. 4 million .
davenport - based lee owns another newspaper serving the quad cities, the quad - city times, and a number of other iowa papers. they include the mason city globe gazette, the muscatine journal and the waterloo - cedar falls courier .
this thing was sealed up months and months before ,
speculates roy malone, who worked as an investigative reporter at the post - dispatch until retiring in 2000 .
they knew lee was going to buy it last fall .
many current and former lee employees have good things to say about the company - - though they' re quick to point out the difference in size between their papers (which usually sport circulations under 100, 000) and the post .
london, uk / accesswire / may 14, 2018 / if you want access to our free research report on gannett co. , inc. (nyse: gci), all you need to do is sign up now by clicking the following link urltoken as the company' s latest news hit the wire. on may 10, 2018, the company announced that it has inked a deal to acquire wordstream, inc. , a provider of cloud - based software - as - a - service (saas) solutions, for approximately $ 130 million in cash plus up to $ 20 million payable in 2019 and 2020 based on achieving certain revenue targets. urltoken is currently working on the research report for lee enterprises, incorporated (nyse: lee), which also belongs to the services sector as the company gannett .
lee' s markets include madison, wis. ; lincoln, neb. ; davenport, iowa; st. louis, mo. ; billings, mont. ; bloomington, ill. ; tucson, ariz. ; and napa, calif .
conglomerate mergers can supply a market or
demand
for firms, thus giving entrepreneurs liquidity at an open market price and with a key inducement to form new enterprises. the threat of takeover might force existing managers to increase efficiency in competitive markets. conglomerate mergers also provide opportunities for firms to reduce capital costs and overhead and to achieve other efficiencies .
then again, pulitzer was probably worth it. she brings with her a golden dowry, in the form of an annual operating revenue in excess of $ 400 million. the acquisition vaults lee into the media big leagues, catapulting annual revenues to more than $ 1. 1 billion. once the deal closes sometime in the next few months, lee will rank as the fourth - largest newspaper publisher in terms of dailies owned and seventh in combined daily circulation (1. 7 million) .
contreras says he only learned that a deal was in the works in late september of last year - - roughly two months before post employees were informed that goldman sachs had been brought onboard and four months before the sale to lee was announced publicly .
morton and his fellow industry - watchers could perhaps be forgiven their lack of foresight. until the sale was announced, lee enterprises was a veritable unknown on the national stage, and pulitzer brass were tight - lipped until the ink was drying on the deal. privately, pulitzer execs had known since at least september that a deal was in the works. but when pulitzer president and chief executive robert woodworth announced to the post - dispatch newsroom last fall that the company had hired investment - banking firm goldman sachs & co. to explore
strategic alternatives ,
he stopped short of saying the company was up for sale .
unsurprisingly, three montana daily newspapers, all owned by lee enterprises, have come out in support of greg gianforte, the republican candidate in the special election to fill montana’s vacant (and only) seat in the u. s. house. you can read what the editorial boards of the billings gazette, the missoulian and the helena independent - record had to say, or you could just glance at one of them, because they all said essentially the same thing: that in these perilous times we need somebody who can get right to work, which they claim gianforte is ready to do. (more…) continue reading →
lee was founded in 1890 in iowa, by a. w. lee. most of our papers trace their beginnings to the mid - 1800s. among our alumni, teenage sam clemens wrote for the muscatine journal in iowa before becoming world - renowned as mark twain. a reporter from our newspaper in bismarck, north dakota, died with george custer at the battle of the little big horn. in 1973, our newspaper in davenport, iowa, became the first in the world to be produced totally by computer .
a few years after graduating from college, lee succeeded his father as head bookkeeper at the muscatine journal. however, because he wanted to write, he left that secure position to work for the chicago times. following a two - year stint as a writer and part - time editor, he returned to iowa. after getting together $ 16, 000, which was most of his savings combined with money invested by family and friends, the 32 - year - old lee bought the ottumwa daily courier in 1890. he then began to shape it into what he believed a newspaper should be: a medium that served the local community and had a duty, as well as a right, to provide the most reliable and most provocative news available. above all, lee believed his newspaper should conform to a high ethical standard that would instill confidence in its readers. lee' s writing and editing skills, combined with his training as a bookkeeper, contributed to his success in this new venture during the 1890s. furthermore, his emphasis on integrity and journalistic responsibility, which is documented in company annals, became a hallmark of the daily courier. during the 1890s, lee' s two sons died, and to that misfortune was attributed his noted determination to help young men achieve success in his company .
david k. gottlieb succeeded adler. gottlieb started working for lee in 1936 and worked his way up through the ranks to vice - president of the entire company by 1967. he served only three years before he died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1973. his most important contribution to lee during that period was the initiation of a joint venture with nippon paint co. , ltd, of japan. in 1972, the two companies formed napp systems inc. to manufacture an advanced printing device for sale to the publishing industry. napp' s innovative printing plates significantly sped up the plate - making process and reduced the number of people required to accomplish a specific task by as much as 50 percent. also under gottlieb' s leadership, lee purchased wsaz - tv, an nbc affiliate in north carolina, and wmdr - fm in illinois .
in 1986, schermer became chief executive officer of the company and richard d. gottlieb, son of david gottlieb, took over as president. the two ran the company together, with schermer slowly transferring supervision of day - to - day management duties to gottlieb. gottlieb had been with the company since 1964 and worked his way up to vice - president of newspapers by 1980. known for his human relations and managerial skills, gottlieb maintained the management style and growth strategy that had become a legacy of lee enterprises. in 1990, he oversaw the acquisition of the rapid city journal (iowa) and helped to complete the 100 percent purchase of napp systems inc. for $ 100 million .
long - time newspaper executive mary junck was at the helm of lee as president and ceo by 2001. she was named chairman in 2002 after gottlieb retired. eager to make use of the funds stemming from its broadcasting sell - off, junck made it clear that the firm was looking to purchase daily newspapers in lucrative markets with circulations from 30, 000 to 125, 000. she orchestrated the largest deal in company history in 2002 when she announced the $ 694 million acquisition of howard publishing inc. overall, lee added 16 daily newspapers to its holdings as a result of the buyout and became the 12th largest newspaper company in the united states. it acquired iowa' s daily sioux city journal later that year. by early 2003, lee' s revenue had climbed by 58. 9 percent and its daily circulation was up by 75 percent to 1. 13 million .
koin - tv began operating on october 15, 1953, as portland' s first vhf tv station. [ 2 ] [ 6 ] at the time, it was jointly owned by mount hood radio and television broadcasting corporation; newhouse broadcasting corporation (now advance publications), owner and publisher of the (portland) oregonian; local investors and marshall field' s department stores. [ citation needed ] newhouse and mount hood also shared ownedship of koin radio (am 970 and 101. 1 fm). eventually, marshall field sold its stake to newhouse. lee enterprises purchased koin - tv in april 1977 from mt. hood broadcasting corporation (50 - percent owner) and newhouse broadcasting (50 - percent owner). [ 7 ]
lee announced monday that it has entered into an agreement to buy the dispatch - argus for $ 7. 15 million from kankakee, ill. - based small newspaper group. the dispatch - argus has a daily average circulation of 25, 000 and serves moline and rock island, according to a statement .
another hand - wringer: employee pensions. like many companies these days, lee does not have a pension plan. instead, it matches employee contributions to their 401 (k) retirement plans. pulitzer inc. provides a pension plan for employees who have been with the company for five years or more .
berkshire will continue to own bh media group, which has 30 daily newspapers including its hometown omaha world - herald in nebraska and 47 weekly newspapers, and retain editorial control. berkshire had invested in lee in the past .
i love our newspapers and am passionate about the vital role they serve in our communities ,
buffett said in a statement .
the company' s achievements over the past several years left it in an enviable position among its competitors. lee was reporting increases in sales and profits when many in the industry were suffering due to a weak economy and slowing advertising revenues. to ensure success in the years to come, junck set forth five key operating priorities that included growing revenue creatively and rapidly, improving leadership and circulation, emphasizing local news, building an online future, and exercising careful cost controls. employees at company headquarters carried cards with these priorities printed on them. as it focused on the future, lee continued to draw on many of the principles established by its founder to achieve prosperity and to serve as a responsible leader in the newspaper industry .
the paper' s executive editor, william nangle, declined to comment about the incident. lee' s vice president for news, david stoeffler, says he was unaware of any issues about the cancer story .
it was very good work ,
he says .
coincidentally i left a copy of it behind at the newsroom at the post - dispatch .
“independent publishing is an excellent addition to the lee portfolio in montana and further expands our already strong audience in missoula and the surrounding communities, ” said gulledge, who also is regional publisher of the billings gazette, missoulian and ravalli republic. “i look forward to working with matt gibson and the independent team to build on the success they have generated in the missoula region. ”
in a remarkable good - bye column published friday, chris rush announced to readers of the world, a lee - owned newspaper in coos bay, ore. , that he was stepping down as publisher. the first part of the column is pretty standard fare, with rush describing his lifelong love affair with newspapering, noting the sacrifices made by him and his family, etc .
there are other causes for concern among the staff. under pulitzer, domestic partners of post employees received health insurance; lee rarely extends benefits to unmarried partners .
we haven' t made public what our plans are for pulitzer employees ,
says the company' s communications director, dan hayes .
[ but ] most of our newspapers do not offer domestic - partner benefits .
from that point of view, the marriage metaphor wasn' t much of a stretch. pulitzer brought to the chapel the name and storied past, while lee was the quiet suitor, a product of good, responsible breeding. both are newspaper - only operations whose publications concentrate heavily on local coverage. both invest local editors with a lot of autonomy and believe the best way to grow a newspaper is to increase revenue, not starve the newsroom .
loomis passed the baton to philip adler, the son of e. p. adler. the younger adler had worked as a reporter, editor, and then publisher for lee since 1926 and had also served as editor on both his high school and college newspapers during the 1920s. like those before him, e. p. adler maintained the company' s emphasis on integrity and honesty. earlier in his career, adler was tested by a series of investigative pieces he wrote about a local businessman. several readers canceled their subscriptions in protest, but adler stuck to his story. after the businessman fled town with much of their money, most of those subscribers renewed. in addition to a strong code of ethics, adler also worked to improve the quality of lee' s newspapers. he ended the practice of running many syndicated columns and press releases, for example, and instead encouraged his publishers to generate copy in - house .
but the jackpot winners of lee' s $ 64 - per - share buyout are members of the pulitzer family - - minus, of course, the exiled joe iv. according to the most recent sec documents, emily pulitzer will reap more than $ 400 million from the sale, while michael pulitzer stands to collect more than $ 120 million. pulitzer cousin david moore will cash in more than $ 190 million. (michael and emily pulitzer did not return phone calls seeking comment on the sale. )
as a cbs radio affiliate, koin - am was the local home for cbs radio network programs such as the cbs world news roundup, lux radio theater, and suspense (koin' s own history page has omissions and errors in its early days. koin radio signed on the air as kqp on november 9, 1925 and changed call sign to koin on april 12, 1926. koin became a cbs radio affiliate on september 1, 1929. from: craig adams, radio historian). an fm station, koin - fm (at 101. 1 fm), was added in 1948. both stations were owned by field enterprises, inc. from 1947 until sold in 1952 to the mount hood radio and television broadcasting corporation. [ 3 ]
shortly after launching his aggressive acquisition program, lee died as a result of heart failure during a 1907 vacation in europe. because he had hired capable and independent managers, however, the company was in good hands. adler was selected to head the lee syndicate, as it had become known, and co - worker jim powell became his vice - president. adler, once described as
a fire - eating and adventurous but resourceful pioneer ,
complemented powell' s more cautious nature. adler' s colorful life was evidenced in 1917 when several men attempted to kidnap him from a hotel, stuff him in a trunk, and hold him for $ 40, 000 ransom. adler was able to fend off the kidnappers as they beat him and captured one of them with the help of passersby. all of his attackers were eventually convicted, and one hanged himself in jail. immediately after the renowned event, adler sent this telling radiogram message to his family :
have suddenly become famous. slightly injured. nothing serious. home tonight. don' t worry. - - dad .
lee' s growth strategy continued in the late 1990s and into the new century. the firm acquired the pacific northwest publishing group in 1997, which strengthened its foothold in oregon and the surrounding northwest region. other dailies and weeklies were added the company' s arsenal in the following years, including the ravalli republic, the beatrice daily sun, the columbus telegram, and the fremont tribune. at this time, the company opted to focus solely on its core publishing and printing operations. as such, it sold most of its broadcasting holdings to emmis communications corp. in 2000 in a $ 560 million deal .
even if specifics were in short supply, to many outside observers the gist of woodworth' s tortured syntax was clear: he was writing the last chapter of death of a dynasty. far from a fairy - tale romance, the roots of this narrative could be traced back to the 1993 death of joseph pulitzer iii. the saga continues through the banishment of scion joseph pulitzer iv and reaches its denouement with the 1999 hire of robert woodworth, leading inexorably to the sale to lee. (for more on the pulitzer family, see
pulitzer' s pain ,
published in last week' s issue. )
others at lee - owned papers are less encouraging. at the times in northwest indiana, ed collier, a photographer, quit last year citing the paper' s handling of a package that chronicled a woman' s fight with cancer .
it was a great package, beautifully done ,
says collier, who did not work on the package .
but in the last two pages there were funeral - home ads. i' m not sure it was a breakdown in the wall between advertising and editorial, but it just seemed to me to be in very poor taste. it was kind of like,' are you thinking about dying? well, here' s a good funeral home.'
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lee enterprises is a publicly traded american media company . it publishes 54 daily newspapers in 23 states , and more than 300 weekly , classified , and specialty publications . lee enterprises was founded in 1890 by alfred wilson lee and is based in davenport , iowa . the company also provides online services , including websites supporting its daily newspapers and other publications . as of september 2013 , lee had 23.2 million unique web and mobile visitors , with 209.1 million pages viewed . lee also owns 82.5 % of townnews.com , an internet service company . the company offers commercial printing services to its customers . lee enterprises is currently the fourth largest newspaper group in the united states of america . the company acquired howard publications ( 16 daily newspapers ) for $ 694 million in 2002 and pulitzer , inc. ( 14 daily , over 100 non-daily ) , for $ 1.5 billion in 2005 . since january 2012 , its executive chairman , mary junck , has also been chairman of the associated press . 
lee enterprises is a publicly traded american media company. it publishes 54 daily newspapers in 23 states, and more than 300 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. lee enterprises was founded in 1890 by alfred wilson lee and is based in davenport, iowa. the company also provides online services, including websites supporting its daily newspapers and other publications. as of september 2013, lee had 23.2 million unique web and mobile visitors, with 209.1 million pages viewed. lee also owns 82.5% of townnews.com, an internet service company. the company offers commercial printing services to its customers. lee enterprises is currently the fourth largest newspaper group in the united states of america. the company acquired howard publications (16 daily newspapers) for $ 694 million in 2002 and pulitzer, inc. (14 daily, over 100 non-daily), for $ 1.5 billion in 2005. since january 2012, its executive chairman, mary junck, has also been chairman of the associated press.
lee enterprises is a publicly traded american media company. it publishes 54 daily newspapers in 23 states, and more than 300 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. lee enterprises was founded in 1890 by alfred wilson lee and is based in davenport, iowa. the company also provides online services, including websites supporting its daily newspapers and other publications. as of september 2013, lee had 23.2 million unique web and mobile visitors, with 209.1 million pages viewed. lee also owns 82.5% of townnews.com, an internet service company. the company offers commercial printing services to its customers. lee enterprises is currently the fourth largest newspaper group in the united states of america. the company acquired howard publications (16 daily newspapers) for $ 694 million in 2002 and pulitzer, inc. (14 daily, over 100 non-daily), for $ 1.5 billion in 2005. since january 2012, its executive chairman, mary junck, has also been chairman of the associated press.