The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Editorials

November 2, 2009

Our View — Taylor making bold move

On the surface it doesn’t seem a sharp business move by one of Minnesota’s most successful businessmen.

While Glen Taylor knows a bid to buy 25 percent to 35 percent of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis is risky, he says he has hope for the newspaper’s future and wants to help in keeping it strong.

The proposed deal is a positive development for the state’s major newspaper, which, like many others, has struggled mightily with declining subscriptions and advertising revenue.

Taylor, and Minneapolis publisher Vance Opperman, sent a proposal to New York bond holders who bought equity in the newspaper as it emerged recently from bankruptcy reorganization.

Taylor, who built the North Mankato Taylor Corp. empire and owns the Minnesota Timberwolves, is motivated by a desire to provide the newspaper with some Minnesota-based ownership. Still, he said the move isn’t a charitable endeavor — he expects the paper to make money.

Taylor and Opperman are candid in saying they don’t pretend to have the solutions to what ails the industry, but they want a hand in trying to find them. And Taylor and Opperman, who have spent the past year meeting with many of those looking for a new business model, say they know solutions will come from a variety of places, including those experienced in Internet technology and “new media.”

Taylor — experienced in politics, business and philanthropy — knows vibrant newspapers are necessary for a vibrant state. From open political discourse and business news to investigative reporting and school board news, there are no existing alternatives to well-staffed newsrooms.

Paying for that news gathering is expensive and increasingly difficult to support. Advertisers have myriad alternatives today, from direct mailing and e-mail campaigns to Web sites and traditional outlets. Amid the declining revenues, newspapers are further harmed by their news stories flowing over the World Wide Web for free.

The newspaper industry and the public have a stake in hoping sharp and civic-minded people such as Taylor and Opperman will help find ways for serious news outlets to be successful into the future.

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