He says that the "new" Examiner is going to concentrate on local communities, which the Chronicle (he implies) has no interest in.

Wish he'd buy a paper in L.A., where we have the same problem.

What's the matter? You don't like Valley rants?

Two of the three doubters quoted -- Bronstein and Singleton -- have strong competitive incentives and business-cultural biases to pooh-pooh the deal. The third, John Morton, does much of his business with large, monopoly-style newspapers, and has been way behind the curve in acknowledging one of the most underreported media developments of the last four years: The explosion of free tabloid urban daily newspapers, many of which are breaking even (or at least claiming to) within three years of launching. Morton lives in a world of 23% profit margins and 500-man newsrooms; meanwhile these little rags are subsisting on $10 million a year & 40 editorial employees (on average), and will likely soon be making that 23% number look puny, given the upside of their local (usually captive) ad markets. These papers are *great* business investments; the only real debate is whether they do any worthwhile journalism, and so far their record is unspectacular.

As for Anschutz' motivation, I would guess it's a mixture of profit, vanity (owning one of the great titles in newspaper history), and seeing whether this is a business model that he can repeat in Los Angeles and Denver, where having a sympathetic editorial and advertising outlet would be useful for his other businesses. Just speculation, of course.

Pure speculation?

I have met Mr. Anschutz on several occaisions and have to say he is a charming, if annoying guy. Not exactly self-made (his father purchased a large tract of land where he later diacovered oil) he has a rough-and-tumble personality complete with cigars, dirty jokes, etc. A man's man, a fun guy, and a character. Perfect, when you think about it, for a Newspaperman.

Pure as the driven snow....

Ted, I think you met Anschutz's alter ego.

How come? Perhaps because I met him when he was travelling, relaxing, and not doing business?

I don't know who Ted is, but a lot of business people in town (and a whole lot of people in Denver) know Anschutz. He just doesn't do interviews. If I remember right, he even chatted with the LAT hockey reporter at HealthSouth, but it was off the record.

As down to earth as Mr Anschutz may seem, he is not one of the regular guys. He's a man with tons of money, and a vision. Exactly what that vision will be for his new newspaper is to be seen. My guess is, it'll take on the flavor of his FBL billboards, and his movie production companies that's mission statements are as wholesome as apple pie. All his media holdings(radio stations as well) purpose very inspiring messages. Nothing wrong with that, except,they are totally HIS views,which tend to be narrow, and his personal values. His voice is getting stronger and stronger.Although he generously gives to charities,it has also been countlessly reported that Mr Anschutz is a right wing conservative, and a devoted religious and family man who donates big bucks to anti-gay organizations and the Republican party. Not quite the MO of someone who would buy a newspaper business in San Francisco unless he has an agenda.

Ted, Sounds more like Tony Soprano than Phil Anschutz. Not only is he a visionary,he must also be bionic, to be in his 60s, still run races and smoke cigars. Frankly, who cares?