From BANG to LANG?

MediaNews Group's decision to merge its 12 Bay Area newspapers into three has led to speculation that the company could do something similar with its nine Southern California papers, collectively known as the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.

I can only speculate myself, but I see the potential for structural mimicry if MediaNews succeeds in its stalled bid to buy the Orange County Register.

With the Register, LANG would look more like the Bay Area News Group did before yesterday's merger, with the Register playing the role of the Mercury News: a large paper with a statewide brand in a relatively affluent county that could serve as an editorial center of gravity for a larger region. The LANG papers already exist as three clusters of three, a structure that could be collapsed into two or three newspapers.

However, MediaNews would have to have a reason to further consolidate LANG. One obvious reason would be a desire to cut staff to lower costs - the BANG merger led to 120 layoffs. I might be wrong, but I think LANG was already leaner than BANG in terms of staff and so might not be able to stand such a huge "streamlining." (Indeed, the Register itself might be more vulnerable if cuts are a priority.)

Another reason could be that MediaNews actually believes the BANG model is more efficient and effective: Fewer brand names, a more uniform editorial approach, better positioning to do mobile, etc.

One reason MediaNews might leave LANG alone, even after a Register deal, would be to give it time to evaluate the Bay Area merger to see what works and what doesn't. Undoubtedly, there will be backlash from readers and circulation will probably drop (though the consolidation will mask some of this). But this feels like a post-print production plan and so BANG might be the guinea pig that gets isolated and studied until it recovers - or doesn't.

Merger talks between MediaNews and OC Register break down

A disagreement over price has stalled merger talks between MediaNews Group and the Orange County Register. MediaNews, which owns nine newspapers in Southern California, had put together a financed deal to buy the Orange County newspaper, but Register owner Freedom Communications wants a better offer for its flagship property, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Freedom owns eight television stations and more than 100 daily and weekly papers, according to the Journal. It's probable MediaNews only wants the newspapers - and possibly only the Register - and that could mean Freedom wants more time to negotiate better deals for the remainder of its assets.

It's also possible bids from Platinum Equity, which owns the San Diego Union-Tribune, or Los Angeles Times-owner Tribune Co., might have given Freedom a new sense of its value. However, regulatory hurdles stand in the way of any merger with these companies.

From the Journal:

A March deadline for bids on Freedom's assets came and went before the unsuccessful discussions with MediaNews. Freedom is now in talks with other possible buyers, the people said. 

-snip- 

People familiar with Freedom's finances said the company's newspapers could fetch about $350 million, or roughly four times their earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Freedom's television stations could be worth about $400 million, or about eight times such earnings, these people said. 

Those figures fail to take into account corporate overhead expenses, and pension and tax liabilities, said some people familiar with the negotiations.

A universal copy desk*, **

The nine daily newspapers that make up the Los Angeles Newspaper Group plan to merge their copy desk functions sometime in the next few months. The resulting universal copy desk will be based in West Covina, home of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. As many as 10 copy editor slots could be lost as part of the merger (from about 85 positions down to about 75).

I'd reported last month that LANG's so-called Inland Division - the Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, Whittier Daily News, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Redlands Daily Facts and San Bernardino Sun - had planned to consolidate their copy desks. The broader plan now takes in the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze and Los Angeles Daily News.

Some LANG newsrooms were told about the plan earlier today, with the admonition that the plan's final shape had yet to be fully worked out. Employees were also warned of more turmoil in the coming weeks.

*Updated: Though some details of the plan have yet to be sorted out, editors at the Daily News and Daily Breeze decided to tell their respective newsrooms about the merger today to head off rumors. Copy editors were told they would be eligible for severance if they choose not to make the move to West Covina.

Also, while the universal copy desk might seem radical at first, it's really just the final step for consolidation-addicted LANG. Although there are nine papers, there are only five copy desks - the Daily Breeze and Press-Telegram share a desk, so do the Star-News, Tribune and Whittier Daily News, and so do the Bulletin, Sun and Daily Facts. Only the Daily News has a desk of its own.

**Updated II: The Daily Breeze folks are finally set to move in to their new offices at the end of the month. There is, of course, room for a copy desk.