Nutter "deeply concerned" by auction results, voices support for Daily News

Mayor Nutter said he was "deeply concerned" about the sale of the Inquirer and Daily News to its creditors this afternoon, and he called on the new owners to preserve the Daily News and take the need for quality journalism into account when making business decisions in the months ahead.

"Certainly it is my hope that after all the financial side of this is looked at and analyzed that real newspaper people, folks who value the quality of what the Daily News, the Inquirer and Philly.com have brought to this city and region," are consulted, Nutter said.

He called on the new owners to make decisions "based on great journalism and what it takes to run a great news enterprise as opposed to just the financial end and what the bean counters might care about."

The mayor also called on the lenders to preserve the Daily News. Some have speculated that the tabloid - which claimed a Pulitzer Prize two weeks ago - could be on the chopping block.

"Both of these papers have their own audiences, they have their own styles. I guess you could say that a newspaper has a certain mood or attitude and it's good for people in the city and the region to get those different perspectives," Nutter said.

The lenders have not said one way or the other what their plans are for the Daily News.

Nutter observed that he has read both papers since his youth, and he voiced concern for the employees who staff the newspapers.

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