Comments for cvillenews.com

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by belmont yo

belmont yo — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:35:56 +0000

“Really none of our business…”

Said no one on the internet, ever.

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by jmcnamera

jmcnamera — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:39:58 +0000

Any conflict of interest between Wschler / TheHook / Daily Progress etc should be settled between him and those entities. Really none of our business except to be aware of the conflicts if there are any.

Its not like they have a monopoly on any part of the news world, unless of course he secretly controls cvillenews.com…

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith — Sun, 20 May 2012 02:24:19 +0000

I also think Weschler should sell his Hook-Cville shares but not because of a monopoly but because of divided loyalty. The DP and the weeklies compete against one another for revenue and I would assume Mr. Buffett, his new boss, would expect him to place the interests of the DP first .

There are two problems here. The first is the notion that there is a market for his shares in these publications. Unless he is to sell them at an enormous (or complete) loss, I’m dubious that he’d find anybody willing to buy those shares. The second is the assumption that the scope of this professional duties give him any control over the Daily Progress. Maybe they do, but I don’t think any of us have any way of knowing.

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by Betty

Betty — Sat, 19 May 2012 20:57:30 +0000

I also think Weschler should sell his Hook-Cville shares but not because of a monopoly but because of divided loyalty. The DP and the weeklies compete against one another for revenue and I would assume Mr. Buffett, his new boss, would expect him to place the interests of the DP first . That would disadvantage the other owners of the weekly because he would be working at cross purposes – Seems very clear
Waldo an I missing something ?

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith — Sat, 19 May 2012 19:57:40 +0000

I’m curious, what’s wrong with the “appearance” of a monopoly? Also, are you aware that a monopoly requires anti-competitive practices and, if so, what anti-competitive practices “appear” to exist here?

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by Trees down

Trees down — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:30:40 +0000

Weschler needs to sell his shares to remove the appearance of a monoply in Cville media. Considering Weschler also has donated to Charlottesville Tomorrow to further entangle this web of relationships.

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by Betty

Betty — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:17:07 +0000

Here’s the link to the Buffett quote I mentioned. I’m afraid this may bode ill for free weeklies and their websites in our community, and the others that now have a Buffett owned paper.

Buffett has often said that newspapers were an excellent business when the owner of a newspaper had “the only megaphone in town.”

http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_b20_2/berkshire-media-general.html#hdng2

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by Elux Troxl

Elux Troxl — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:09:07 +0000

Total Revenue of the U.S. newspaper industry in 2011 : $23,900,000,000

Total Revenue Of Google in 2011 : $36,500,000,000 . . .

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by Betty

Betty — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:05:00 +0000

Thanks Waldo, I didn’t realize he had bought so many weeklies.

I have read that Buffett thinks the way for a newspaper business to succeed in a town is to be the only megaphone. I wonder, since he didn’t buy our weeklies and since Weschler is overseeing the success of the Progress now ( which has been on death watch ), but also part owner of the Hook and Cville, if that will now mean the demise of our weeklies, or if Wechsler and Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will try to buy them outright. Either way I see competition. Buffett’s belief that the Daily Progress online should have a paywall will bump up against the weeklies free websites and print editions and with, as you said, Buffett’s deep pockets that competition will be lop-sided. And I think puts Weschler in a difficult position.
Whose bottom line will he support – the Progress or the weeklies.

Comment on Daily Progress Sold to Berkshire Hathaway by danpri

danpri — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:55:40 +0000

It is getting more and more difficult to get online media content of value (and of course this differs for each person) without having to pay. I spent most of my national media time on the NYT website until their 20 article limit paywall sent me to LATimes. Now LATimes paywall starts at 1 article. At the same time I find myself on the iPad more often. About to buy the NYtimes coverage online by subscribing to the Sunday home delivery option. Just a matter of what you want. I can pass on “newspapers” during the week, but that Sunday edition is like crack.

As far as Buffet, I wish I had bought 10 shares 20 years ago. He would have my blessing to buy the Mumbai Times if he wished. And his investing has often been contraian. Perhaps he sees that the paywall is getting accepted and will become standard in the next 5 years for dailies.