About eight years ago, the McClatchy Co. surprised just about everybody by making the top bid for Cowles Media, owner of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, where I worked. The reaction in the newsroom at the time was: "Who?"
The bidding had been secret. Everybody figured one of the biggies -- the Tribune Company of Chicago, or the Washington Post (which already owned a share of the Star Tribune) would be the victor. But who was this McClatchy outfit?
Those of us working in the online operation knew exactly who we were getting as our new owner: A smart, aggressive, well-run company on the rise.
Today McClatchy is buying Knight Ridder, and nobody is asking "who?"
Being acquired by McClatchy is about the best possible outcome for the Knight Ridder newspapers. It's a company that knows how to run efficiently and turn solid profits while also turning out a first-rate editorial product. Gary Pruitt's company has a great reputation and deserves every bit of it.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the San Jose Mercury News and some other low-performing Knight Ridder papers are going to be resold by McClatchy. The same thing happened in the Cowles Media takeover; everything other than the Star Tribune was quickly remarketed to bring down the debt and focus the acquisition on the most profitable component. There are more shoes to drop.