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30 years and one day

News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.

16 comments

30 years and one day

POSTED: Monday, January 30, 2012, 3:02 PM

It was 30 years ago yesterday (in a great piece by my friend and colleague, Jack Morrison):

Staff members of what was then called The Bulletin didn't quite know what to do or what to think in the face of a disaster that they had all seen coming but were reluctant to accept.

The Bulletin closed on Jan. 29, 1982 - 30 years ago yesterday.

The newsroom at 30th and Market streets was vast and bright, with big windows letting in the light.

I don't remember what the weather was like outside, but inside the mood was uncharacteristically gloomy.

Staffers gathered in small groups to discuss the undiscussable. Some, including me, had offers, but many had no idea what the future held

Meanwhile, um, TODAY:

A minority shareholder of the parent company of The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News is looking to sell its 30 percent stake, according to a story in the New York Post.

Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that holds interests in several newspapers, was one of 32 investors that acquired the two daily newspapers and Philly.com for $139 million in October 2010.

Now the owners of Philadelphia Media Network Inc. are "in the middle of an auction" to sell the company for roughly $100 million, according to the Post story, which cited a source close to the situation.

Will Bunch @ 3:02 PM Permalink | 16 comments

16 comments

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Comments (16)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:14 PM, 01/30/2012

I grew up in Illinois, frequently seeing ads (probably in The New Yorker) that said "In Philadelphia, nearly everybody reads The Bulletin" or words to that effect. So it was a total surprise to me when it folded. I really believed that everybody read it. Or did everyone read it and it fall down due to the total financial situation of the newspaper business.

— Archimedes

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:47 PM, 01/30/2012

Those darn hedge funds...buying the paper for $139million and selling for $100million...some real robber barons there

— DuncanIdaho

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:38 PM, 01/30/2012

Wow! Rufus - what's with the obsession, bro?

— Talking point sleuth

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:40 PM, 01/30/2012

Need I say more. I mean no sooner do I reference the Talking Point Snob he shows up. What does this guy do all day, monitor sites that may refer to his rants? When I say rants I really mean his distorted cut and paste blog blurbs.

— RufusG

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:15 PM, 01/30/2012

Hey Will. I have a relative that's working at NewsMax - after getting laid off from another newspaper. He says that they have a good business plan and are growing pretty fast.

I have to admit - the idea of you working at NewsMax is pretty amusing.

— Talking point sleuth

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:08 PM, 01/30/2012

Of course according to a few putzes on this site the conservative lowbrow racists are to blame for the print media's demise. I'm sure we will hear from them shortly.

— RufusG

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:56 PM, 01/30/2012

Advertising drove the newspaper industry, especially the want ads. When that source of income dried up the papers were left to maintain readership by actually printing stories that people wanted to read. Unfortunately what we got was a stable of Will Bunches.

— RufusG

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:55 PM, 01/30/2012

I delivered the Bulletin for years in the 1970s from Ocean City to Wildwood. They used to put out 5 editions a day...very bad and expensive. Also, afternoon papers went down as factory work left the country because of the idiot unions.
An Equity company bought the paper in San Diego, turned it around in 2 1/2 years and just sold it to local owners who plan to keep it going. It can work, even though the Lib "journalists" hate it!!!

— sarah89

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:47 PM, 01/30/2012

Better get busy writing more of your pamphlets for Kindle. You like hope and change so much, wait till you see what it's like in this job market. Enjoy camping out with your left wing, looney Occupy (name of town here) hero's pretty soon.

— jimmymack

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:29 PM, 01/30/2012

Does anyone really read the DN except for sports?

— chasing history

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:28 PM, 01/30/2012

I blame George Bush for the Bulletin going out of business.

— General Turgidson

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:54 AM, 01/31/2012

You mean the right wing reincarnation that folded in July 2009? I agree.

— montani semper liberi

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:18 PM, 01/30/2012

"Nearly nobody reads The Daily News."

— CD75

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:15 PM, 01/30/2012

Will, say goodbye to the Daily Snooze. Its days are numbered.

— Comrade Noodlehead

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About this blog

Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.

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