The company is suing a union, saying the sale of three newspapers in Maine won't happen if the buyer must inherit a labor agreement. The proceeds of a sale are urgently needed to satisfy lenders, the lawsuit says.
The search for a buyer of the Seattle Times Co. [http://www.seattletimescompany.com/]'s Blethen Maine Newspapers chain of three dailies has narrowed to three possible purchasers, but the only organization to openly declare its interest says it won't be in that group.
Last week, minority shareholder McClatchy, the Sacramento newspaper chain, said it was willing to sell its not-quite-half slice of the Seattle Times. So how did a locally controlled Northwest newspaper company wind up with a national partner to begin with? The story starts in the 1920s.
Last week was tough for the folks at the Seattle Times Co. [http://www.seattletimescompany.com/] The flagship Seattle Times carried through on a plan to cut the paper's staff of 1,845 by about 7 percent, or 125 employees. Meanwhile, in a federal securities filing last Friday, May 9, Sacramento-based
McClatchy Co. has an ownership interest in almost half of newspapers published daily in Washington, including the Seattle Times. Here's a look at how they may be faring and feeling in the wake of the Times' Maine newspaper sale.
