Thursday, February 26, 2009

Uninformed speculation? 'Letter to readers' all very similar

From the Independent Record:
Just in case you’ve heard some of the uninformed speculation in a few circles, I’d like to give you an update on the financial health of our parent company.

On Thursday, Lee Enterprises announced that it has completed comprehensive changes to all of its debt obligations.

The changes will help our parent company weather the recession. The announcement also removes uncertainty among some observers that Lee would not be able to handle its debt during this time of severe economic downturn in an extremely tight credit market. Lee’s ability to do so underscores the long-term strength of our company.

This development also quashes ill-considered speculation that Lee’s debt obligations could somehow impair the ability of The Independent Record to continue serving readers and advertisers. Of course, that was never true.

From the Glens Falls Post Star:
Just in case you've heard some of the uninformed speculation in a few circles, I'd like to give you an update on the financial health of our parent company.

On Thursday, Lee Enterprises announced that it has completed comprehensive changes to all of its debt obligations.

The restructuring of our overall financial picture will help our parent company ride out the current recessionary climate. The news should remove any uncertainty on the issue of Lee's ability to weather the "storm."

This development also quashes ill-considered speculation that Lee's debt obligations could somehow impair the ability of The Post-Star to continue serving readers and advertisers.

Of course, that was never true.

From the Casper Star Tribune:
Just in case you've heard some of the uninformed speculation in a few circles, I'd like to give you an update on the financial health of our parent company.

Yesterday, Lee Enterprises announced that it has completed comprehensive changes to all of its debt obligations.

The changes will help our parent company weather the recession. The announcement also removes uncertainty among some observers that Lee would not be able to handle its debt during this time of severe economic downturn in an extremely tight credit market. Lee's ability to do so underscores our long-term strength.

This development also quashes all speculation that Lee's debt obligations could somehow impair the ability of the Casper Star-Tribune, Casper Journal and trib.com to continue serving readers and advertisers. Of course, that was never true.

From the Billings Gazette:
Just in case you heard speculation about the financial health of our parent company, I'd like to provide you with a timely update.

Yesterday, Lee Enterprises announced that it has completed comprehensive changes to all of its debt obligations.

The changes will help our company weather the recession. The announcement also removes uncertainty among some observers that Lee would not be able to handle its debt during this time of severe economic downturn in an extremely tight credit market. Lee's ability to do so underscores the long-term strength of our parent company.

This development also should end speculation that Lee's debt obligations could somehow impair the ability of The Billings Gazette to continue serving readers and advertisers. Of course, that was never true.

From the Montana Standard:
Dear Readers: Just in case you've heard some of the uninformed speculation in a few circles, I'd like to give you an update on the financial health of our parent company, Lee Enterprises.

Last Thursday, Lee Enterprises announced that it has completed comprehensive changes to all of its debt obligations.

The changes will help our parent company weather the recession. The announcement also removes uncertainty among some observers that Lee would not be able to handle its debt during this time of severe economic downturn in an extremely tight credit market. Lee's ability to do so underscores the long-term strength of our parent company.

This development also quashes ill- considered speculation that Lee's debt obligations could somehow impair the ability of The Montana Standard to continue serving readers and advertisers. Of course, that was never true.

From the Fremont Tribune:
In tough economic times it is easy to find yourself surrounded by negative and often unfounded views about your business or industry. We know full well about what that’s like.

In an effort to clear up some misconceptions, I’d like to give you an update on the financial health of our parent company and the Tribune as well.

On Thursday, Lee Enterprises announced it has completed comprehensive changes to all of its debt obligations.

The changes will help our parent company weather the recession. The announcement also removes uncertainty among some observers that Lee would not be able to handle its debt during this time of severe national economic downturn in an extremely tight credit market. Lee’s ability to do so underscores the long-term strength of our parent company.

This development also quashes ill-considered speculation that Lee’s debt obligations could somehow impair the ability of the Fremont Tribune to continue serving readers and advertisers. Of course, that was never true.

From the Journal Times, a slightly different version:
In today’s business climate it isn’t often we get a chance to share some positive news.

On Thursday, the parent company of The Journal Times, Lee Enterprises, announced that it has completed comprehensive changes to all of its debt obligations.

The changes will help us weather the recession. The announcement also removes uncertainty that Lee would not be able to handle its debt during this time of severe economic downturn in an extremely tight credit market. Lee’s ability to do so underscores the long-term strength of our company.

Another version from the Albany Democrat Herald:
Everywhere you look these days there are articles about the economy and the destiny of some industries including newspapers — mostly grim tales.

So it was great to be able to share the news last Thursday that our parent company, Lee Enterprises, had successfully negotiated comprehensive changes to its debt obligations. These changes will help Lee weather the recession.

The Albany Democrat-Herald and our sister publications in Corvallis and Lebanon have fared as well as one could hope during these times.

Arguably we are one of the oldest continuous businesses in the mid-valley, and we plan to continue serving readers and advertisers in the future.

Thanks to Billings Blog and Intelligent Discontent (and an e-mail tip) who picked up on this trend before I did.

(It looks like the Quad City Times had the same "letter," but I haven't been able to find it.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

all those letters might have been related to this incident in waterloo. the letter in question was written Feb. 17. the paper sat on the story until March 2, and it's very possible Lee was alerted to the shenanigans and decided to act pre-emptively in other markets.

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2009/03/02/news/local/11062725.txt