Press Herald publisher threatens shutdown
The publisher of the Portland Press Herald said in an affidavit filed last week that the daily newspaper and its sister papers in Waterville and Augusta could shut down completely if its parent company defaults on its loans, according to Crosscut.com.
Publisher Charles Cochrane said Blethen Maine Newspapers, which is owned by the Seattle Times Co., has been losing money at a fast clip, with cash flow decreasing 88% in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to the news website. Blethen Maine Newspapers on July 30 said it had signed a letter of intent with a group of high-powered Maine investors to sell the company's Maine assets. In the affidavit, which was filed in the company's legal battle with the Portland Newspaper Guild over the union's contract, Cochrane called the sale "uncertain" and said that if it doesn't materialize the value of the company could drop "precipitously," leaving a chance the Seattle Times Co.'s lenders won't approve any sale and instead foreclose and seize the chain's assets, the website said.
Cochrane, however, denies the company is close to shutting down the newspapers. In an email sent to Blethen employees today, Cochrane said his comments in the affidavit were taken out of context and were only meant to describe a worse-case scenario, according to MaineToday.com.
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