Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 15, 1991 TAG: 9103150173
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Short
The British publisher and Charles Brumback, president of the tabloid's owner, the Tribune Co., said the closing will be Wednesday if the labor contracts are approved. Maxwell urged the unions to do so "speedily."
Brumback said the Tribune Co. would continue to publish the News through Wednesday; Maxwell's organization would take over the Thursday edition.
Maxwell said his first headline would be, "Forward with New York."
The sale announcement followed a bitter struggle between the News and the unions that included 13 months of fruitless negotiations and a 4 1/2-month strike.
"There's a feeling of relief," said Editor James Willse. "More than relief, there's a feeling of renewal."
The News, once the nation's most widely circulated newspaper, said it lost $114.5 million last year and was hemorrhaging $700,000 a day when Maxwell came in. Major advertisers abandoned the 71-year-old paper because of the strike; circulation was cut in half.
Maxwell said 16 of the top 20 advertisers are returning.
The labor negotiations collapsed on the last day of February. Without a sale, Friday would have been the paper's last day.
The Tribune Co. offered Maxwell $60 million to take over the paper. Maxwell must assume an estimated $100 million in liabilities, including severance costs.
by CNB