Owner rejects union's offer to find buyer for Daily News
Philadelphia Media Network on Thursday rejected an offer from the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia to find an investment group to buy the Philadelphia Daily News.
Philadelphia Media Network on Thursday rejected an offer from the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia to find an investment group to buy the Philadelphia Daily News.
The purchase could be a "win-win" for the company and Daily News employees who face layoffs, the union said in a letter sent Thursday to publisher and CEO Terrance C.Z. Egger.
PMN disclosed Wednesday that it would lay off 27 percent of the tabloid's news staff, or 17 reporters and copy editors.
PMN also is laying off 12 editorial employees at The Inquirer and 17 at Philly.com as part of a plan to consolidate the staffs of the three media outlets into one newsroom and save $5 million to $6 million.
Larry Weilheimer, the company's general counsel, responded with a one-sentence note saying PMN "has no interest in selling the Daily News."
Howard Gensler, a Daily News columnist and union president, said he was confident that the Guild could find buyers for the feisty tabloid if the company's owner, H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, would agree to sell it.
The Guild said in Thursday's letter that it first approached PMN last December with an interest in finding buyers for the Daily News, at a time when the tabloid was threatened with layoffs. That overture was rejected.
Egger, who joined the company as publisher and CEO on Oct. 1, told employees in an Oct. 30 meeting that he would not close the award-winning Daily News because it was profitable and generated revenue. Egger also noted that young adults, or millennials, appear to like its stories.
After the layoffs take effect next month, the Daily News will be produced by a staff of 45 editorial employees, union officials said. "The Daily News is 'the People Paper,' " Gensler said. "If you remove the people, it's not the paper."
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