Seattle Times: Locally owned?

"Seattle Times: Locally owned and uniquely Northwest." At least that is what the Blethen family would like you to believe. But, the buyout of Knight Ridder Newspapers by The McClatchy Co. reminds us that it isn't true.

Seth Sutel, an AP Business Writer, reports that The McClatchy Co. will become the proud owner of 49 percent interest in the Seattle Times thanks to $4.5 billion buyout of Knight Ridder

The newspaper empire McClatchy's will have created will be the second largest nationwide in daily circulation. McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt said he plans to pay down acquisition debt by selling The Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Jose Mercury-News and 10 other Knight Ridder newspapers.

Sutel wrote:

Those properties don't meet Sacramento-based McClatchy's growth-market criteria -- or in the case of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, compete directly with McClatchy's Star Tribune in neighboring Minneapolis...

Knight Ridder's chairman and CEO Tony Ridder said in a statement Monday the "uncertainty is not over" for employees at the 12 papers McClatchy intends to divest, and "I regret that very much."