Diverisifed? Um, no. Intelligent diversification means buying companies that, while they don't neccessarily do the same thing, they can share services as well. And when you're someone like Gaylord (even though he's not the pres/ceo anymore), you don't really have the brains to operate them all efficiently OR effecitively. If the group was doing well, it wouldn't need to be sold now would it? I'd say they failed at "diversification". I'm very much aware of how diversification works....my company has done quite of lot of it through acquisitions...the difference is, we integrate services, therefore, we operate as a single company....not several little independant groups....and we all do very different things, but do them together as one.

So every company that is sold is doing poorly? While that does happen, the inverse is also true.

My bad regarding my statement that OPUBCO is publicly-traded. Of course it's not. I meant to write "corporate headquarters." Wasn't thinking clearly.

xxxx

It is in threads like this that I'm reminded how often people speak of things of which they know nothing and yet present themselves as experts. I will now go back to biting my tongue.

You got me, I'll try to be more correct - it was 254 shareholders, not 256. :whiteflag

My bad regarding my statement that OPUBCO is publicly-traded. Of course it's not. I meant to write "corporate headquarters." Wasn't thinking clearly.

On that note, is this going to mean a transfer of jobs out of OKC and some vacant floors in the OPUBCO building?

xxxxxxxxxxx

It wasn't aimed at you Just the Facts. It's this whole thread. A lot of bad info going out.Of course there is. And it will continue to do so, even after the sale finalizes. After all, it's been more than 75 years since OKC had a newspaper that was owned out of state, and even then we had a very strong local opponent to it. None of us posting today has any first-hand knowledge (yet) of what remote ownership is likely to mean, so most of us are guessing.

Your new owner certainly doesn't sound like the popular picture of an unbiased, objective, observer/reporter -- but it's possible and even (I think) probable that he's an astute businessman and will do all in his power to maintain and hopefully improve the value of his new acquisition. The big question, of course, is who will measure that value...

Good luck, sir, and don't bite your tongue too deeply!

I know, and I was just kidding. Not much we can do about the bad info other than correct it where we can.

It is in threads like this that I'm reminded how often people speak of things of which they know nothing and yet present themselves as experts. I will now go back to biting my tongue.

Biting your tongue is a good plan. You haven’t been through a buyout before have you? I guarantee you that you as an employee of a company being bought out know very little about what is going on. Here’s a helpful bit of advice, get off this thread and don’t mention anything about your company on this or any other website without explicit written authorization.

On that note, is this going to mean a transfer of jobs out of OKC and some vacant floors in the OPUBCO building?

As far as advertising goes, I have a friend who's in that department and they said "staying". I assume other jobs to stay too, how do you make a local sports report or any other report from elsewhere?

Websites for new owner's other newspapers/periodicals:

San Francisco Examiner (http://www.sfexaminer.com/) ... Wiki description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_San_Francisco_Examiner)

Washington (D.C.) Examiner (http://washingtonexaminer.com/) ... Wiki description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Examiner)

Weekly Standard (http://www.weeklystandard.com/) (periodical & blog) ... Wiki description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weekly_Standard)

I assume other jobs to stay too, how do you make a local sports report or any other report from elsewhere?

I am assuming the building houses the global operations of OPUBCO, not just the newspaper operations - but that is just a guess.

Originally Posted by Steve
It is in threads like this that I'm reminded how often people speak of things of which they know nothing and yet present themselves as experts. I will now go back to biting my tongue.


Well please fill us in with your expert first hand opinion instead of just nagging

Websites for new owner's other newspapers/periodicals:

San Francisco Examiner (http://www.sfexaminer.com/) ... Wiki description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_San_Francisco_Examiner)

Washington (D.C.) Examiner (http://washingtonexaminer.com/) ... Wiki description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Examiner)


Weekly Standard (http://www.weeklystandard.com/) (periodical & blog) ... Wiki description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weekly_Standard)

Sounds like a fairly drastic change of format may be in the works, wonder if he will try to do the free circulation supported by advertising in Okc as well? Will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

Sounds like a fairly drastic change of format may be in the works, wonder if he will try to do the free circulation supported by advertising in Okc as well? Will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

I hope it works because the cheaper something is the more likely people are to engage in that activity. Once you have the customer you sell advertising directed at them. This is how my model for mass transit works. People should be able to ride the bus for free and then sell advertising space like crazy.

Well please fill us in with your expert first hand opinion instead of just nagging
Bad form, Metro.

Anschutz is involved in many conservative and charitable causes and foundations, including the Institute for American Values, which opposes same-sex marriage, and the Discovery Institute, which promotes "intelligent design" as an alternative theory to evolution.

This can't be true. Everyone tells me that the media is liberal.

So this will pretty much be the same agenda, but reinvestment of profits, if any, will go to Denver instead of Nashville.

I have an acquaintance who was formerly employed by Mr. Anschutz at one of his enterprises. He said he believes there will be a minimum of 40 layoffs and drastic changes to NewsOK.com in all likelihood.

It's going to be a bumpy ride for current OPUBCO employees. Keep them in your thoughts.

I have an acquaintance who was formerly employed by Mr. Anschutz at one of his enterprises. He said he believes there will be a minimum of 40 layoffs and drastic changes to NewsOK.com in all likelihood.

It's going to be a bumpy ride for current OPUBCO employees. Keep them in your thoughts.

You should also expect that all non-newspaper related jobs will leave. As will all executive jobs, and almost all HR, IT and finance and some accounting, customer support and sales.

^ correct. And that's how you start to make synergies work in companies through acquisition. That (contrary to opinions here) is why the system was in such poor shape before. They failed to consolidate shared services. If you want to have such a broad paintbrush, then you need to have shared services operate together and not in competition. If you have 30 companies, and 30 HR departments, then you fail.

The "smart" way to do it is to consolidate the services so you don't lose the knowledge base. However, it seems that the more corporate a company gets, the more they feel they should rely on outside opinions rather than those they built the company. So you'll hire a "consultant" and then make that person everyon's boss.

^ correct. And that's how you start to make synergies work in companies through acquisition. That (contrary to opinions here) is why the system was in such poor shape before. They failed to consolidate shared services. If you want to have such a broad paintbrush, then you need to have shared services operate together and not in competition. If you have 30 companies, and 30 HR departments, then you fail.

The "smart" way to do it is to consolidate the services so you don't lose the knowledge base. However, it seems that the more corporate a company gets, the more they feel they should rely on outside opinions rather than those they built the company. So you'll hire a "consultant" and then make that person everyon's boss.

You seem to have an intimate knowledge of the inner working of OPUBCO. How many HR departments do you suppose OPUBCO had?

So this will pretty much be the same agenda, but reinvestment of profits, if any, will go to Denver instead of Nashville.

Denver was OPUBCO (private). Nashville is GAYLORD ENTERTAINMENT (public NYSE: GET). Different animals entirely with the exception of the Gaylord leadership, and they certainly can't intersperse (comingle) funds.

I'm sorry to see ownership of the newspaper leave local hands but the Anschutz family is very highly thought of here in Denver - and Denver is far from a conservative city. IMO, it was pretty clear there was little energy in the paper. To have some new blood and new capital may do wonders for the Oklahoman. The ad rates the Oklahoman has charged and with personal knowledge of at least one company that will not come to OKC because of those rates, this may help give a boost to business in the city. I would bet decent money that they will continue to be philanthropic in OKC, though likely not at the level of the Gaylords.

‘Sea change’

The Oklahoman and OPUBCO share conservative values with its new skipper, Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz.

http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-13021-%E2%80%98sea-change%E2%80%99.html

(A more in-depth follow-up will publish next week.)

OPUBCO’s media holdings weren’t the driving force behind the sale, according to a Gaylord Family Endowed Professor. The Broadmoor hotel is the crown jewel of the deal that totals between $700 million to more than $1 billion, a Colorado-based real estate journalist estimates.

http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-13089-sold_.html

OPUBCO’s media holdings weren’t the driving force behind the sale

I suggested this Day 1. It's pretty clear the Gaylords had to sell everything in order to unload their dying media businesses.

It would be interesing to see an itemized market-value estimate for the components of this deal. No, although the newspaper is the most visible in the HQ home town, it's certainly not the most valuable piece of the pie.

The big question now is, what does the family do with the money from the sale?

The big question now is, what does the family do with the money from the sale?

That has been my angle on this deal from day one. A billion dollars is a lot of money and they have to spend it somewhere. I hope it is used to convert FNC into Gaylord Hotel and Tower. I could get used to living in The Gaylord with a roof top tennis court, pool, and jogging track.

A billion is definitely a lot and they already had plenty to start.

They have always been very generous to OU and to local philanthropies and I hope a good chunk heads in those directions.

Since it isn't my money - might I also suggest an endowment to start-up Oklahoma Polytechnic University situated on an urban downtown OKC campus.

That has been my angle on this deal from day one. A billion dollars is a lot of money and they have to spend it somewhere. I hope it is used to convert FNC into Gaylord Hotel and Tower. I could get used to living in The Gaylord with a roof top tennis court, pool, and jogging track.

It's likely they will put the money to some use but they certainly don't have to spend it somewhere.

It's likely they will put the money to some use but they certainly don't have to spend it somewhere.

They can either reinvest it or pay a boat load of taxes. The Gaylord's don't strike me as the 'pay a boat load of taxes' types.

The big question now is, what does the family do with the money from the sale?

I couldn't care less about that. To me, this latest news that the media was just "thrown in" is not a good sign and that makes for the important questions.
Good call on that one, Pete.

I couldn't care less about that. To me, this latest news that the media was just "thrown in" is not a good sign and that makes for the important questions.
Good call on that one, Pete.

that the media was "thrown in" is a sign that newspapers are a failing business ... fyi this is nothing new .. it is happening all over the country

I don't know if my senses are correct, but, lately, it seems to me that Oklahoman reporters have been "let loose" to report the news much more than when David Thompson was president of the OPUBCO Communications Group and publisher of the Oklahoman, Christy Gaylord Everest was the chair and chief executive for the Oklahoma Publishing Company, and David Kelley was the editor of the Oklahoman. During their tenure, we saw, time and again, punches being pulled (if made at all) in the news department.

But, lately, I've seen punches not being pulled concerning Chesapeake, concerning approval/disapproval of the grand lawn west of the Music Hall, etc. I've seen more complete and critical reporting of what goes on at City Hall, including issues which relate to the 1% in our town which, to me, seemed to have had an umbrella of protection at the Oklahoman in its reporting of the news under the Thompson regime.

If my perceptions are correct, this is a completely welcome and wholly unexpected (to me) development ... a newspaper which actually is at risk of being one, even with a very conservative owner! What a concept.

Now, I'm not talking about the Oklahoman's editorials ... I'm talking about news stories being reported without a bias/prejudice/spin/incomplete tag being applied to the story, if even reported in the first place. During the days of the original MAPS election, there seemed to be a distinction between the paper's editorial and news divisions, and that was a good thing, in my opinion. Sort of a firewall appeared to exist between news and editorial departments. Under Thompson, et al., especially during the MAPS 3 campaign, I am convinced that the 1% called the shots as to news reporting as well as editorial position -- and no or very little firewall existed at all.

Has anyone else noticed what I'm describing? IF I'm correct about my perception and serious journalism is being/has been restored to the Oklahoman, I disavow my earlier critiques about the Oklahoman's change of ownership. I could care less about Oklahoman editorials, even though I care greatly about a solid reporting of the news.

My impression is that the Oklahoman has become a much better newspaper, post David Thompson and the former regime.

It's hard to say Doug and time will tell. They are so thinly staffed at the Oklahoman -- only about half the employees of just three years ago -- there is only so much they can do. How deeply can you get into anything when you have to write one or two articles a day?

I did find it interesting that David Thompson was just hired by American Fidelity to head their trust and investment groups. This after he suddenly 'retired' from the Oklahoman just a few months ago swearing his departure had nothing to do with the winds of change at OPUBCO that also blew out editor Ed Kelly.


Perhaps now that the paper is owned by Denver-based Anschutz rather than a family with direct ties to most the power players in town, reporters will be able to distance themselves a bit and not be forced to filter everything through the Gaylord's relationships and self-interests.

How many employees does opubco currently have? including all areas?

If you are talking about the paper/media part, it was recently reported they were down to about 650 from 1,100 in 2008.

Remember, before it was sold OPUBCO also included the Broadmoor hotel and other real estate.

Has anyone else noticed what I'm describing? IF I'm correct about my perception and serious journalism is being/has been restored to the Oklahoman, I disavow my earlier critiques about the Oklahoman's change of ownership. I could care less about Oklahoman editorials, even though I care greatly about a solid reporting of the news.

My impression is that the Oklahoman has become a much better newspaper, post David Thompson and the former regime.I think you already know that as a one-time reporter there and a person who's never quite given up hope for idealism, I canceled my subscription a couple of years ago because the content was so bad. As of late November, I'm once again a subscriber. The improvement in overall quality was noticeable enough to bring me back. And despite the shortage of staff, it does seem to be showing constant improvement.

I also have noticed that the somewhat strange "partnership" with the Tulsa World, that saw a third or more of the editorial space occupied by stories that were of significant interest only to the Tulsa area, seems to have vanished, and the volume of classified ads appears to have increased somewhat.

I think we're on the road to having a real newspaper -- possibly for the first time since the demise of The Oklahoma News!

If you are talking about the paper/media part, it was recently reported they were down to about 650 from 1,100 in 2008.

Remember, before it was sold OPUBCO also included the Broadmoor hotel and other real estate.

I should have been more clear but, Yes, I was referring to the paper/media employment totals. Thank you.

I think you already know that as a one-time reporter there and a person who's never quite given up hope for idealism, I canceled my subscription a couple of years ago because the content was so bad. As of late November, I'm once again a subscriber. The improvement in overall quality was noticeable enough to bring me back. And despite the shortage of staff, it does seem to be showing constant improvement.

I also have noticed that the somewhat strange "partnership" with the Tulsa World, that saw a third or more of the editorial space occupied by stories that were of significant interest only to the Tulsa area, seems to have vanished, and the volume of classified ads appears to have increased somewhat.

I think we're on the road to having a real newspaper -- possibly for the first time since the demise of The Oklahoma News!

THANK YOU JIM FOR NOTICING!
At this moment myself and others are really endeavoring to make sure you don't regret your decision. Things are changing ... for the better!

Keep up the good work, sir. A quick count of bylines in this morning's edition made it really clear to me just how hard you in particular are working at it (and I don't mean to minimize the efforts of others, but I don't often see anyone else's byline appear four times in a single edition).

Yeah, and I had one story actually held!

Pete, we are WAY down in newsroom staffing. But...
We have been allowed to fill some long empty positions under the new ownership. And four NEW positions have been created: two investigative and two energy reporters. This is the most exciting time I've witnessed at The Oklahoman in a long time. Not saying we'll be perfect. Not saying there won't be hard times, challenges ahead. But I'm very encouraged....

Great to hear Steve!

OKC needs a strong Oklahoman.

I'll always give it my best shot...

For what it's worth, your "best shot" was right on target in the article on the front page of the paper today. The one that you collaborated with that other journalist on. (Sorry. I forgot "the ending a sentence with a preposition rule against. And the style and grammar parts to. =)

You Sir, are a True Journalist.
I hope that the Local Paper has even a vague idea/clue how valuable that fact is.
And I hope that you do too.

You're generous. Thank you. I also expect that with all this very flattering praise, the rotten egg throwing will begin anytime now!

You're generous. Thank you. I also expect that with all this very flattering praise, the rotten egg throwing will begin anytime now!

Is Metro getting ready to make a post?

You're generous. Thank you. I also expect that with all this very flattering praise, the rotten egg throwing will begin anytime now!

Keep up the good work, Steve. I, too, have noticed a difference with the whole of the paper. In fact, there was a story earlier this week in The Oklahoman that wouldn't have made it in not all that long ago.

I'll always give it my best shot...
Yes you do! You're gonna go up the ladder, or whatever the
journalism thing is.