Lourey Questions Pioneer Press Deal

STATEMENT

St. Paul Newspaper Deal Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test

Candidate for Governor Becky Lourey is calling for an immediate anti-trust investigation into the apparently non-competitive deal between Star Tribune owner McClatchy Co. and Denver-based MediaNews Group for the purchase of the Pioneer Press and three other major daily newspapers. She joins newspaper union leaders in California who are calling for government regulatory intervention investigating the proposed deal.

“We have no evidence that this was a competitive arms-length transaction entered into with the best interests of preserving the high quality of Minnesota journalism,” Lourey said. “We know of at least two serious, well-funded potential bidders who were willing to participate in an open, competitive process, but they were intentionally kept out. An immediate anti-trust investigation is warranted.

“In fact, the appropriate authorities should have joined me in raising their concerns well before this questionable deal was struck. This is another instance when the public interest should have been held high above corporate interests much sooner -- before the damage was done.”

Lourey originally expressed her concerns about the pending resale of the Pioneer Press on April 5 at www.beckylourey.org/media/statements.html, shortly after the McClatchy-Knight Ridder transaction was announced.

Senator Becky Lourey, a nationally recognized health care public policy expert, resides in Kerrick in east-central Minnesota. She has 16 years of legislative experience and currently serves as chair of the Minnesota Senate Health and Family Security Committee.