“The sale of our Regional Media Group will enable The New York Times Company to continue our transformation to a multi-platform media company and further sharpen our focus on the development of our brands nationally, globally and in the northeastern U.S.”-New York Times, memo to employees
The New York Times has been in business since 1851, it even survived the Great Depression, now it has sold off its Regional Media Group to raise much needed cash! But was it for economic reasons?
Late December 27, the New York Times announced it made a deal to sell Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Holdings (aka Halifax Media Group), for $143 million in cash.
Regional Media Group consists of 16 regional newspapers and other related businesses. Those newspapers and other publishing businesses are spread from the southeastern U.S. to California.
Halifax Media Holdings is reportedly a foreign company, but is listed as based in Florida. The State of Florida’s Division of Corporations says Halifax Media Holdings didn’t register with them until October 2009. Since the news of the deal was first leaked last week, Halifax Media Holdings removed their website from the internet (website was listed as Halifax Media Group)!
Even though the State of Florida shows Halifax Media registering in October 2009, the Daytona Beach News Journal (owned by Halifax Media) claims the corporation was founded in 2010: “Founded in 2010, Halifax Media is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company’s investment group includes Stephens Capital Partners LLC, Jaarsss Media, and Redding Investments. Halifax’s strategy is to invest long-term capital in quality companies positioned in strong markets that are closely connected to the community.”
The various forms of company names using ‘Halifax Media’ in the title adds to the sinisterness. There is also a Halifax Media Co-op in Nova Scotia, Canada, which began in February 2009. It claims to be part of a grassroots socialist media movement started by The Dominion News Cooperative in 2003.
The Dominion News Cooperative does not have any corporate headquarters, they are decentralized and operate ‘guerrilla’ style. They claim to be anti-corporation which would make them unlikely to be part of the Halifax Media Group. However their stated purpose of conducting media operations at grass roots level is similar to the Halifax Media Group’s desire to take over media operations “…that are closely connected to the community.”
Whether or not Halifax Media Holdings (aka Halifax Media Group, aka Halifax Media Acquisition) is connected to Halifax Media Co-op, it’s interesting that since 2009 (when Halfax Media Co-op started in Canada) this secretive, possibly foreign controlled corporation, has been quietly buying up U.S. newspaper publishers.
Halifax Media has also given warning to the hundreds of employees of Regional Media Group. The Atlantic published an article with the full New York Times memo to its employees, which include statements like:“…you will be notified within the next 48 hours whether the buyer will be offering you employment. The New York Times Company has not been involved in that decision.”
Also, in the official New York Times memo, company officials stated they did not put Regional Media Group up for sale, it was Halifax Media that came to them demanding to buy it: “While it [the sale of Regional Media Group] was not planned, we were approached by Halifax Media Holdings LLC.”
Mmmm