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PMN sale: New owners, future, hopes

IT WAS a familiar scene: a roomful of cameras and microphones, some awkward smiles and a handful of local wealthy guys in dark suits who talked about doing something big, something real big.

IT WAS a familiar scene: a roomful of cameras and microphones, some awkward smiles and a handful of local wealthy guys in dark suits who talked about doing something big, something real big.

Yeah, Philadelphia Media Network, the parent company of the Daily News, Inquirer, philly.com and SportsWeek, was sold again.

The media company - which has changed hands four times in six years - yesterday introduced some of the local investors who purchased the newspapers and website from a collection of hedge funds for $55 million.

They are names that residents in the region know well:

* George Norcross, 56, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cooper Health System and Cooper University Hospital, and executive chairman of the insurance and employee-benefits firm Conner Strong & Buckelew.

* Lewis Katz, 70, former owner of the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils, and director of the philanthropic Katz Foundation.

* H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, 81, philanthropist and onetime cable television mogul.

* William Hankowsky, 61, chairman, president and chief executive of Liberty Property Trust.

* Joseph Buckelew, 81, chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew.

* K.P. "Kris" Singh, 64, chief executive of Holtec International.

The ownership group is aiming to rescue the newspapers from years of declining advertising revenue and circulation numbers, and to reinvent the business model amid an ever-changing technological landscape.

So, no pressure or anything.

"We have every confidence in the world," Norcross said, "and we've invested tens of millions of dollars in our belief that we're going to make this successful, and do things that people said couldn't be done."

Besides the purchase price, the new owners are willing to put up $10 million for working capital.

"What we want to say to the community now is that there's a stability of leadership," Hankowsky said.

People's Paper Editor Larry Platt said: "The new owners talked about their affection for the Daily News and spoke about growth, not cost-cutting - both of which are music to my ears."

Norcross and Katz will serve as managing partners, Lenfest as chairman of the board. They are retaining publisher and chief executive Greg Osberg.

The owners also signed a pledge that they wouldn't interfere with the editorial content of the papers and its website.

"No one's going to intimidate anybody. That would be suicidal for the enterprise," said Katz, whose longtime companion is Inquirer reporter Nancy Phillips.

So what does all this mean for readers of the Daily News?

Katz said the owners will consider a variety of ways to boost circulation, including content changes.

"I believe the Daily News . . . could return to its circulation success of the past," Norcross said.