More from Lean Dean

I do not defend Lean Dean, but I will say this again: He has not gone to Jelenic levels at most of his properties.

Yes, it's tough to outasshole the devil, I get that; and like y'all, I am scared at how he is now exalted in some journalism circles, but there are farrrrrrr worse out there doing more damage to our business.

 

I'm not "focused" on that. I mentioned it, and someone responded, and I responded to that. If you noticed the first part of my post, it said the real crime is elsewhere. That should make it obvious I am livid about these job cuts.

 

So, where does the next shoe drop?

 

As a journalist from the Bay Area, I'm just guessing I should look elsewhere for jobs when I graduate college. What other newspapers/groups does this schmuck own?

 

As a veteran journalist, the best way to become a veteran journalist in any area is do a little research... psst... come here... closer... have you tried Google, there youngster?

 

It's not that Singleton has become "exalted" its just the rest of the newspaper owning clowns have sunk to his level -

JLAFF - unfortunately he owns more every year. If you want to avoid him you may have to head east of the Rockies

 

I don't think anyone has ever suggested that Singleton was nearly as bad as Jelenic.

 

Good grief, Charlie Brown.

 

Singleton is all business and can control his temper. He doesn't usually meddle.

It's easy to rip Singleton, but with few exceptions he buys newspapers none of the mainstream companies want to own. He picked up Long Beach for $38 million -- a healthy paper of that size would have gone for more than $100 million. He paid a reported $130 million for the L.A. Daily News when the previous owner had paid $178 million a decade earlier (and then invested more than $70 million in new production), meaning Dean got the thing for essentially half price. So while it's unpleasant to be around when he's chopping, something I know firsthand, the fact is that in many cases he is taking unwanted properties and making them financially viable.

 

The L.A. Daily News has been "viable" for 90 years. It was a money maker for Tribune, Jack Kent Cooke and then Singleton. It carved a niche within Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley long before Dean Singleton came along.
The production facility you mention is the one in northern Los Angeles County. It was state of the art when built and remains and outstanding facility. So outstanding, some runs of other papers in the chain print there, including the Long Beach Press Telegram.
And, that facility was built by Jack Kent Cooke. Singleton had nothing to do with that facility. It's true, Singleton received the paper at a discount. But, that's because Cooke's estate needed to liquefy assets before Uncle Sam started taking large bites.
The estate had to do the same with the Washington Redskins.
Singleton's utopia in Los Angeles is failing. The Los Angeles Times is struggling, but Singleton's plan of surrounding The Times and going hyper-local is hemorrhaging. And, you see other quality papers in the chain taking the bullet for his failures in Los Angeles.

Weeks and weeks ago I wrote the following post. It will remain true as long as this man is a media owner:

 

That's what I meant to say. I added that to the $176 million Cooke paid; that's why I said Deano got it half-price.

But if it were that attractive a property, wouldn't someone else have offered more than the bargain price Singleton got it for?

 

It was an attractive property with an asterisk or two.
The prospects for the future made it a bit more risky. The Times at the time was racking up Pulitzers and circulation. The Daily News was losing hordes of good people to the L.A. Times, Dallas Morning News and the N.Y. Times. Replaced them with the 24k journalists (and we're not speaking of gold, here).
So, is was the perfect situation for Singleton. He had an undervalued asset. The real estate owned by the paper was fantastic including a state-of-the-art production facility.
Shortly after Singleton buys the paper (2.5 years) the Chandlers cash in their chips and The Times is sold to Tribune. Just like Tribune, they close the the suburban bureaus. One in the San Fernando Valley.
Instead of capitalizing on an opportunity for dominance in a literate San Fernando Valley with a lesser L.A. Times product, Singleton cuts. He cuts some more. He's still cutting.
He will make his target margin if it mean the lives of his employees. And, if all else fails, he will just sell off the parts.