New Times is facing hard times. The paper is struggling with the same economic pressures that affect the rest of the newspaper industry and I've been watching the paper shrink as advertisers migrate to other media. The paper used to be nearly two hundred pages; last summer is was usually 124, the last month or so it's been 96 and this week's edition is 84 pages.
However, demographic and and economic trends may not be the the biggest problem New Times is facing--the paper appears to be in serious legal trouble.
New Times Media LLC, which merged with the Village Voice newspaper’s parent company in 2006, might face U.S. Bankruptcy Court proceedings after losing a $15.9 million judgment for ad-price manipulation, a lawyer said.
New Times, an affiliate of Village Voice Media LLC, sued West Coast rival Bay Guardian Co., asking a judge to rule it doesn’t have to pay the judgment in a dispute over advertising rates in San Francisco-area alternative papers, according to a complaint made public Jan. 14 in Delaware Chancery Court.
“You learn in civics class that when you get a judgment against you, you have to pay,” yet the Village Voice group hasn’t done so, said Tim Redmond, the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s executive editor. He said in a phone interview that the judgment has risen to $21 million, with interest.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving rag. Farewell, you feathered bastards.
Posted by: Conway | January 17, 2010 at 12:46 AM
'Predatory pricing' doesn't sound very progressive (except as alliteration, I guess).
Posted by: BobH | January 17, 2010 at 11:49 AM
The sooner they go the better.
Posted by: Simon says: | January 17, 2010 at 12:54 PM
The New Times will stick around. They fill too much of a niche to disappear entirely. If Village Voice Media goes bankrupt, I don't see the New Times going away. Their ownership may change but they won't go away. And the Phoenix New Times is one of their flagships, so I doubt it would be the first to be sold off in a bankruptcy proceeding.
Posted by: Melvin | January 17, 2010 at 10:14 PM
Melvin: I agree a $20mil penalty is not going to put them out of business. Hurt them, force them to downsize further -- yes; sink them completely -- no.
The amusing thing is that they've been exposed as capitalists of the nastiest sort. Predatory pricing -- the evil monopolist destroying the small business by selling below cost. Sounds like what progressives like to condemn Walmart for doing.
Posted by: BobH | January 17, 2010 at 11:01 PM
That's not legal?
Posted by: Jim Torgeson | January 18, 2010 at 02:51 PM
Lost advertising revenue - says it all - you noticed that we lost about 300,000 jobs in AZ (conservative figure) - that is about 300,000 people who aren't spending money - and, the impact of each job loss is to lose more jobs which means less money which means that utilities lose money which means that the people Greg lobbies for have less money to pay him which means Greg is shopping around for a lawyer job with another group and if Greg doesn't find an equal paying job he will have less money to spend - well, you get the picture.. the economy is slowly revolving its way down the toilet hole..
Posted by: ron | January 19, 2010 at 09:14 AM