Friday, January 16, 2009

S.Trib files bankrupcy

It's a sad day for MN journalism as the Star Tribune filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition Thursday night. 

The Star Tribune is MN's largest newspaper.

"We intend to use the Chapter 11 process to make this great Twin Cities institution stronger, leaner and more efficient so that it is well positioned to benefit when economic conditions begin to improve," Chris Harte, the paper's publisher, said in a statement.

The paper is owned by Avista Capital Partners, who bought the paper less than two years ago for $530 million. Through mergers of various Twin Cities publications, the paper has been in operation for more than 140 years.

In an open letter to Star Tribune readers, Harte wrote the filing was "necessary to reduce [the paper's] operating costs, restructure [its] debt and create a financially viable business for the future."

Harte wrote that the filing will allow "business as usual," including print and online editions.

This filing comes about a month after the Tribune Company filed for bankrupcy—another sign that print journalism is a dying breed. 

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