MediaNews unlikely to go after Freedom Communications

Had Freedom Communications, owner of the Colorado Springs Gazette, filed for bankruptcy during better economic times, journalism-business observers would have immediately begun speculating about the odds that it might be purchased by MediaNews Group, headed by Denver Post publisher Dean Singleton. After all, Singleton had taken a run at Freedom...

By Michael Roberts

September 10, 2009

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Had Freedom Communications, owner of the Colorado Springs Gazette, filed for bankruptcy during better economic times, journalism-business observers would have immediately begun speculating about the odds that it might be purchased by MediaNews Group, headed by Denver Post publisher Dean Singleton. After all, Singleton had taken a run at Freedom back in 2003, and after being rejected, the Orange County Business Journal says he dismissed members of the Hoiles family, which owned Freedom, as "naive beach boys who have invited the sharks over to swim with them." Now, however, Singleton isn't in nearly as good a position to sink his teeth into the obviously vulnerable firm. Late last month, the Post announced that it had completed a new financing agreement with its lenders, and that's a good thing from Singleton's perspective. But in comments to the OCBJ, he conceded that MediaNews remains "stressed," and he came close to expressing relief that he hadn't actually taken over Freedom six years back. Sometimes a guy gets lucky....

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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