Neverending Gannett
Gannett Co., The Commercial Appeal‘s parent company, may have recently avoided a hostile takeover by a hedge fund, but vultures continue to circle.
On the same day Gannett’s board voted to reject new members nominated by minority owner Alden Global Capital, stories began to circulate about new suitors looking to purchase the media company. More recently, Gannett’s national paper, USA Today, published a weirdly speculative article for a company reporting on itself, noting that “Gannett is reportedly in merger talks with newspaper chain GateHouse Media” and other media companies.
According to the report, a merger could help Gannett “bulk up and trim costs.” Bulk up and trim costs? To borrow from Shakespeare, that’s hot ice and wondrous, strange snow. USA Today reports that Gannett had no comment for its own flagship newspaper.
Long story short: Memphis’ Commercial Appeal has experienced one disruption after another, and the trend appears likely to continue. Alden may have failed in its takeover attempt, but hedge funds fundamentally changed the nature of newspaper ownership when they bought into the industry circa 2008.
Neverending Elvis
Via popculture.com: “The exit from Scientology earned both Lisa Marie and her mother the title of ‘suppressive person’ … This means that members, even family members still in the church, cut off all contact from a person.”
The assertion was questioned because Lisa Marie’s actress daughter, Riley Keough, is still a member of fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard’s sci-fi religion.
