COPYCENSE

“Knight Ridder, the second-largest newspaper company in the United States, agreed last night to sell itself for about $4.5 billion in cash and stock to the McClatchy Company, a publisher half its size, according to people involved in the negotiations.

“The deal, which is expected to be announced today, comes as the newspaper industry is gripped by uncertainty. Readers have begun to drift away from printed newspapers as their Web sites have experienced sharp gains in use.”

Katharine Q. Seelye & Andrew Ross Sorkin. Newspaper Chain Agrees to a Sale for $4.5 Billion. The New York Times. March 13, 2006.

See also:

Geraldine Fabrikant & Floyd Norris. Was Death of Newspapers Greatly Exaggerated, or Is Verdict Still Out? The New York Times. March 14, 2006.

Katharine Q. Seelye. McClatchy to Resell 12 Papers It’s Buying. The New York Times. March 14, 2006.

Jon Fine. McClatchy’s Big Bet on Old Media. BusinessWeek Online. March 14, 2006.

Matt Richtel. Hungry Media Companies Find a Meager Menu of Web Sites to Buy. The New York Times. March 13, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.