The Pioneer Press is for sale again. On the same day the parent company of the Star Tribune said it is buying the parent company of the Pioneer Press, it said it would sell the paper along with a few other Minnesota publications owned by Knight Ridder. The McClatchy Co. says it wants to avoid antitrust concerns that would arise if it owned both the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press.
So what happens to the Pioneer? MPR's Jeff Horwich has some of the possibilities and some of the concerns:
"The disappearance of the Pioneer Press would make a huge growth spurt for the Star Tribune," says veteran Pioneer Press reporter Aron Kahn.
Kahn says he and many of his colleagues remain skeptical that McClatchy has any interest in seeing the Pioneer Press succeed.
"We're concerned that we would just be used as a liquidation vehicle, to make some money for a corporation, or reduce the expenses of another corporation -- and that journalism is really disregarded in the process," says Kahn.
Over at the McClatchy-owned Star Tribune the headline says "McClatchy puts its faith in the future of newspapers:"
Now McClatchy has to show that it can extend that model to new markets and prove that newspaper companies can thrive despite the advent of new technologies that some believe will eventually make them obsolete.
McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt tried to face that perception head-on Monday morning in a conference call with stock analysts.
"Pessimism about our industry is indeed widespread these days," he said. "But we believe it is misinformed."
But then again he doesn't work for the Pioneer Press.
In the political world, Sen. Norm Coleman was on Midday Monday, and he put to rest the rumor that he wants to run for vice president, saying the only office he plans to run for in 2008 is U.S. Senate:
"I haven't made the official announcement, but I am interested in continuing to serve the people of Minnesota. I think I've got the best job in America. I represent the best state in America, and I just hope that folks will consider giving me the opportunity to keep doing it, so no, let's rule out any of those 'higher ambitions.'"
At the Capitol, a Senate committee rejected an effort to weaken the law that bans legislators from taking gifts. Sen. John Hottinger had argued that the ban prohibits lawmakers from getting to know each other and adds to the potential for gridlock.
And another Senate committee approved a bill designed to go after big companies that don't provide health insurance for employees. The Star Tribune has the story:
The bill would cover only the handful of Minnesota firms with 10,000 or more employees. It would require those companies to spend on health benefits an amount equal to 8 percent of the wages it pays to its lower paid workers, or pay the difference to a state fund.
The measure's sponsor, Sen. Becky Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, said large corporations that fail to provide adequate health care to their employees force taxpayers and other "responsible" companies to pick up the tab.
"What I'm trying to do is stop the cost shifting to the public programs," Lourey testified.
The chamber of commerce doesn't like the bill, and the GOP majority in the House probably won't either.
Gov. Pawlenty releases his supplemental budget today. More on that tomorrow.
