Lee Enterprises is "burning the furniture" to survive

[NancyLou]

This makes me kind of nervous... Lee has several openings across the country for reporters, some of which I've sent in my resume for, and I'm planning a move in conjunction with any job offer. I'd hate to get to a newspaper only to be laid off three or four months later.

Perhaps they have a bankruptcy reorganization in their future?

 

[Bradley Guire]

Lee filed Chapter 11 a few years ago. How many times can a company do that? Beats me.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/judge-confirms-lee-enterprises-bankruptcy-plan/article_1724751c-45fb-11e1-aa76-0019bb30f31a.html

 

[Mark2010]

This makes me kind of nervous... Lee has several openings across the country for reporters, some of which I've sent in my resume for, and I'm planning a move in conjunction with any job offer. I'd hate to get to a newspaper only to be laid off three or four months later.

Perhaps they have a bankruptcy reorganization in their future?

Nancy,

Been there, done that. It's sort of an occupational hazard. (Not limited to the newspaper business, of course.) One place laid me off after a few months before even reimbursing me for the money I had spent to move out there.

So, no, it's not the safest business long-term and it's hard to get anyone to make, much less honor, any promises.

 

[HanSenSE]

Lee filed Chapter 11 a few years ago. How many times can a company do that? Beats me.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/judge-confirms-lee-enterprises-bankruptcy-plan/article_1724751c-45fb-11e1-aa76-0019bb30f31a.html

Can't read Bradley's link, asn't there one earlier this year that was essentially to force creditors to accept Lee's terms? Or is this the same one. So many reorganizations, you can't tell them without a scorecard.

 

[Bradley Guire]

Lee filed Chapter 11 a few years ago. How many times can a company do that? Beats me.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/judge-confirms-lee-enterprises-bankruptcy-plan/article_1724751c-45fb-11e1-aa76-0019bb30f31a.html

Can't read Bradley's link, asn't there one earlier this year that was essentially to force creditors to accept Lee's terms? Or is this the same one. So many reorganizations, you can't tell them without a scorecard.

That was the bankruptcy from December 2011. It went a couple of months into 2012. Wasn't aware if there was another one.

 

[NancyLou]

Is there a dry erase board around here to help us keep track of all these bankruptcies? Maybe a chart?

 

[Mark2010]

Is Lee trying to sell off some properties and not finding any takers? Or have they even put some properties on the block just yet?

I get that it's sort of a catch-22. No one wants to sell what few profitable properties they have left. But it's hard to find buyers for properties that are bleeding money right and left. Sort of like my old car. After a while, I gave up trying to repair it and sold it for a few hundred dollars to another sucker who thought he could make it run well.

 

[NancyLou]

I just glanced at their press release page (http://www.lee.net/newsreleases/) and didn't see anything about them offering up any properties for sale, but I'm not 100% they would put out a news release about that.

 

[Mark2010]

Back before joining a Lee paper, I worked for a company that put our paper (and several others) up for sale. It was a decent, mid-sized paper in a reasonable market with virtually no competition for ad dollars. But after more than a year, there were still no buyers.

 

[NancyLou]

Mark2010,

I've been applying at Lee just like I've been applying every where else. I'm just sticking to the smaller newspapers. I believe it's the larger ones that have less stability.

Lee's been around a long time. I don't see them going anywhere anytime soon.