Today you can pick up a share of Postmedia stock for two or three cents on the TSE. Technically that's still not "zero," where I first predicted it was heading back in 2013, but I think we're close enough for gloating rights.
And this is quite the "restructuring" the vultures who have been milking this cash cow to death since its birth have fashioned for themselves, is it not? Not only can they continue bleeding SunPostMedia dry, but on the off chance that the newspaper industry ever stabilises, they've now got a 98% ownership stake!
I expect Mr. Godfrey will trouser a tidy bonus for his excellent service to his American masters!
Showing posts with label Postmedia Networks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Postmedia Networks. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Postmaster Godfrey elected to Canadian News Hall of Shame
I see where SunPostMediaNetworks boss Paul Godfrey has been elected to the Canadian News Hall of Fame.
Contrary to what some naysayers have been trying to tell you (probably just sour grapes from some of the thousands of journos fired by Mr. Godfrey, who has been the most prolific terminator of journalists in the history of Canadian journalism), there actually IS a Canadian News Hall of Fame - it's downtown right next to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
No shit. Been there. Seen it with my own eyes.
Since Godfrey was never a typesetter or a journalist, you'll find him in the "Builder's Section." Yup, just like the hockey guys, they've got a Builder's Section. That's where you'll find Max Aiken and Conrad Black.
And as of a couple of months back, Paul Godfrey.
Now, I know there's bound to be a few cynics who are gonna claim that Godfrey has been more of an "un-builder" than a builder; a destroyer if you will. (See ref to sour grapes above.)
But look at it this way; times have changed. New times present new challenges, and in spite of these challenges the Postmaster has succeeded in creating the largest conglomeration of news titles in the history of this fair land!
Yes, the days where we felt obliged to hold a Royal Commission on concentration of media ownership at least once every decade are long behind us, obviously.
Not only that, but Godfrey has managed to shake off the shackles of the onerous and entirely arbitrary "Canadian Ownership" regs as well! Today's Canadian news colossus is 100% at the mercy of the US vulture funds that have been bleeding it to death since its inception.
Congratulations Mr. Godfrey!
Contrary to what some naysayers have been trying to tell you (probably just sour grapes from some of the thousands of journos fired by Mr. Godfrey, who has been the most prolific terminator of journalists in the history of Canadian journalism), there actually IS a Canadian News Hall of Fame - it's downtown right next to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
No shit. Been there. Seen it with my own eyes.
Since Godfrey was never a typesetter or a journalist, you'll find him in the "Builder's Section." Yup, just like the hockey guys, they've got a Builder's Section. That's where you'll find Max Aiken and Conrad Black.
And as of a couple of months back, Paul Godfrey.
Now, I know there's bound to be a few cynics who are gonna claim that Godfrey has been more of an "un-builder" than a builder; a destroyer if you will. (See ref to sour grapes above.)
But look at it this way; times have changed. New times present new challenges, and in spite of these challenges the Postmaster has succeeded in creating the largest conglomeration of news titles in the history of this fair land!
Yes, the days where we felt obliged to hold a Royal Commission on concentration of media ownership at least once every decade are long behind us, obviously.
Not only that, but Godfrey has managed to shake off the shackles of the onerous and entirely arbitrary "Canadian Ownership" regs as well! Today's Canadian news colossus is 100% at the mercy of the US vulture funds that have been bleeding it to death since its inception.
Congratulations Mr. Godfrey!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Everybody wrong on Russia except Stephen Harper and Postmedia News
Matthew Fisher is one of the few non-interns still writing copy for the Postmedia News conglomerate. As we all know by now, Postmedia is less a news org and more an artifice to enrich a few bond vultures.
But no matter, they still get more eyeballs than virtually any other Canadian news platform, which is why it's worthwhile to dissect the nonsense espoused by "roving international correspondent" Matt Fisher.
Yessiree, Canada stands alone in standing up to the bully on the world stage; Russia.
Hmm... how is such a thing even possible?
After all, every one of our European allies has far greater proximity to and far greater experience with Russia. How is it possible that our very own Big Steve is alone aware of the Russian threat?
If you look for them, it won't be hard to find the stats that suggest that Canada is reneging on it's NATO obligations. Canada keeps shrinking it's percent of GDP devoted to military expenditures, to the point where we are now about half of the 2% commitment demanded of all NATO members.
But you'd never guess that from listening to Stephen Harper.
Or Matt Fisher.
So the weasels in Berlin and Paris are all about facilitating Russian expansionism? The only "expansion" we have seen was the repossession of Ukraine, which happened after a referendum and without a shot being fired.
That is a very benign contrast to most NATO adventures we have witnessed this century.
According to Fisher, the Germans are scared that the biggest market for Mercedes and BMW might dry up if they get serious about sanctions. Fisher simply makes this shit up. Russia has never been the biggest or most profitable market for German carmakers.
And Hollande is interested in keeping a few thousand French shipyard workers working. Good for him. That's his job!
Fisher goes so far as to offer a war-mongering quote from WWII era US General Lucias Clay that the only thing Russians understand is force.
Yup, we gotta slap them Russians down, and slap 'em down good so they remember their place. That's the rationale for sending 75 Canadian troops to Poland this week. Yes, we're all business, we Canadians are...
That gesture was too pathetic to even be considered laughable.
The real reason for Harper's anti-Russian agenda, as most people know but Fisher never gets around to acknowledging, is that Harper thinks those million-plus Ukrainian-Canadians will win the next Canadian election for him to reward him for his non-stop Russophobia.
It's a sad state of affairs when this country's foreign policy is dictated by a small bloc of hyphenated Canadians.
It's even sadder when one of our biggest media concerns connives in that sorry undertaking.
But no matter, they still get more eyeballs than virtually any other Canadian news platform, which is why it's worthwhile to dissect the nonsense espoused by "roving international correspondent" Matt Fisher.
Yessiree, Canada stands alone in standing up to the bully on the world stage; Russia.
Hmm... how is such a thing even possible?
After all, every one of our European allies has far greater proximity to and far greater experience with Russia. How is it possible that our very own Big Steve is alone aware of the Russian threat?
If you look for them, it won't be hard to find the stats that suggest that Canada is reneging on it's NATO obligations. Canada keeps shrinking it's percent of GDP devoted to military expenditures, to the point where we are now about half of the 2% commitment demanded of all NATO members.
But you'd never guess that from listening to Stephen Harper.
Or Matt Fisher.
So the weasels in Berlin and Paris are all about facilitating Russian expansionism? The only "expansion" we have seen was the repossession of Ukraine, which happened after a referendum and without a shot being fired.
That is a very benign contrast to most NATO adventures we have witnessed this century.
According to Fisher, the Germans are scared that the biggest market for Mercedes and BMW might dry up if they get serious about sanctions. Fisher simply makes this shit up. Russia has never been the biggest or most profitable market for German carmakers.
And Hollande is interested in keeping a few thousand French shipyard workers working. Good for him. That's his job!
Fisher goes so far as to offer a war-mongering quote from WWII era US General Lucias Clay that the only thing Russians understand is force.
Yup, we gotta slap them Russians down, and slap 'em down good so they remember their place. That's the rationale for sending 75 Canadian troops to Poland this week. Yes, we're all business, we Canadians are...
That gesture was too pathetic to even be considered laughable.
The real reason for Harper's anti-Russian agenda, as most people know but Fisher never gets around to acknowledging, is that Harper thinks those million-plus Ukrainian-Canadians will win the next Canadian election for him to reward him for his non-stop Russophobia.
It's a sad state of affairs when this country's foreign policy is dictated by a small bloc of hyphenated Canadians.
It's even sadder when one of our biggest media concerns connives in that sorry undertaking.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Socialist union threatens job opportunities for new graduates
Don't let that "Association" bit in their name fool you; the Canadian Intern Association is a "union" plain and simple.
And what does this union have its knickers in a twist over? Why, the time-honoured practice of giving recent graduates a chance to work!
Yes, many generous and community-minded conglomerates across the land give recent graduates the opportunity to gain some work experience by hiring them as interns. Interns are unproven products of a highly suspect education system, and the internship experience is a valuable tool in separating the wheat from the chaff so to speak.
That's true for both the intern and the employer. After a year or two working in an unpaid internship, an aspiring journalist may conclude that working for this or that particular media conglomerate isn't everything it's cracked up to be. They are then free to go on their way with a reference and some valuable work experience on their CV.
That reference and that work experience can go a long way in beating out all the other candidates for the next unpaid internship.
Likewise, if you're a financially shaky media conglomerate struggling to pay off those bondholders who restructured you a few years ago, those unpaid interns are a blessing from the heavens! They get a reference, you get free labour for a year or two.
That's called a win-win in my world!
But as always, no sooner has the free market created a beautiful and efficient job distribution mechanism that truly works, than the whining socialist party-poopers are banding together trying to wreck it!
One can only hope that the Harperites collectively stop their ears and ignore the bleatings of these socialists.
And what does this union have its knickers in a twist over? Why, the time-honoured practice of giving recent graduates a chance to work!
Yes, many generous and community-minded conglomerates across the land give recent graduates the opportunity to gain some work experience by hiring them as interns. Interns are unproven products of a highly suspect education system, and the internship experience is a valuable tool in separating the wheat from the chaff so to speak.
That's true for both the intern and the employer. After a year or two working in an unpaid internship, an aspiring journalist may conclude that working for this or that particular media conglomerate isn't everything it's cracked up to be. They are then free to go on their way with a reference and some valuable work experience on their CV.
That reference and that work experience can go a long way in beating out all the other candidates for the next unpaid internship.
Likewise, if you're a financially shaky media conglomerate struggling to pay off those bondholders who restructured you a few years ago, those unpaid interns are a blessing from the heavens! They get a reference, you get free labour for a year or two.
That's called a win-win in my world!
But as always, no sooner has the free market created a beautiful and efficient job distribution mechanism that truly works, than the whining socialist party-poopers are banding together trying to wreck it!
One can only hope that the Harperites collectively stop their ears and ignore the bleatings of these socialists.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Postmedia Networks and the forty foot pole
Back in 2010, when the late Izzy Asper's media empire was in its death throes, a wake of bond vultures got busy buying up Canwest debt at peanuts on the dollar. They installed seasoned political operative Paul Godfrey as their titular figurehead and before you knew it, Canada was rocking a brand spanking new media conglomerate under the PostMedia banner.
As an investment by the vultures, the new entity has thus far honoured at face value the obligations the vultures bought up for peanuts. As a newspaper chain, it has the most readership of any media conglomerate in Canada. As a viable investment for regular folks it's been dead in the water and circling the drain since the get-go.
That's why the news that somebody paid real money, albeit not a lot of it, for almost 20% of the company left me flabbergasted. Everything at the former Canwest that can be stripped, looted, or outsourced has been, ages ago. They're an industry leader in the exploitation of unpaid interns. Their real estate is long gone in sale-leasebacks. What's the attraction? There is no possible upside by standard investment metrics.
But I think I've got it figured out.
The 11 millions Ed Mule paid for his 20% share of Postmedia is pocket change. It got him a coast to coast newspaper network with big schlep in Ottawa and some of the provincial capitals. This isn't a financial investment; it's an investment in a bully pulpit.
If you want to guide Canadian public opinion to happy thoughts about trade agreements, pipelines, tar sludge, Iran... whatever, what better way to do it than with the nation's biggest newspaper network?
As a potential profit centre, Mule has vastly overpaid for his slice of Postmedia.
As a PR platform he practically got it for nothing.
As an investment by the vultures, the new entity has thus far honoured at face value the obligations the vultures bought up for peanuts. As a newspaper chain, it has the most readership of any media conglomerate in Canada. As a viable investment for regular folks it's been dead in the water and circling the drain since the get-go.
That's why the news that somebody paid real money, albeit not a lot of it, for almost 20% of the company left me flabbergasted. Everything at the former Canwest that can be stripped, looted, or outsourced has been, ages ago. They're an industry leader in the exploitation of unpaid interns. Their real estate is long gone in sale-leasebacks. What's the attraction? There is no possible upside by standard investment metrics.
But I think I've got it figured out.
The 11 millions Ed Mule paid for his 20% share of Postmedia is pocket change. It got him a coast to coast newspaper network with big schlep in Ottawa and some of the provincial capitals. This isn't a financial investment; it's an investment in a bully pulpit.
If you want to guide Canadian public opinion to happy thoughts about trade agreements, pipelines, tar sludge, Iran... whatever, what better way to do it than with the nation's biggest newspaper network?
As a potential profit centre, Mule has vastly overpaid for his slice of Postmedia.
As a PR platform he practically got it for nothing.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Why Paul Godfrey is a bargain at a million a year
It can't be pleasant being in charge of the slow-motion sinking of the good ship Postmedia Networks, but Paul is making the best of it. Here's his take on the just released numbers that showed a $112 million loss for the last quarter:
“The transformation of Postmedia continued this quarter with the roll out of our paid content model to all of our newspapers, traction on our cost savings initiatives and the completion of our organizational redesign to a functional operating model,” said Paul Godfrey, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue on this path, transforming a traditional media company into one that leverages future opportunities with a structure that supports a new model.”
Is that not some of the most inscrutable bafflegab you've ever tried to decipher? "The transformation continued" indeed! From a "traditional media company into one that leverages future opportunities."
I sure hope they arrive at that "functional operating model" soon. The dysfunctional operating model they've been operating with is getting a little long in the tooth.
And the shareholders must be holding their breath waiting to get a glimpse of the "structure that supports a new model." Will the new model be the first media network to operate entirely without paid employees? Can the operation be functionally operated with unpaid interns? Can they all telecommute from their homes, thereby saving the company the expense of office space?
Speaking of shareholders, one wonders what invisible hand is propping the share price up in the $1.50 range. Maybe it's time to sell off some of that $340 million in "intangible assets" on the balance sheet?
“The transformation of Postmedia continued this quarter with the roll out of our paid content model to all of our newspapers, traction on our cost savings initiatives and the completion of our organizational redesign to a functional operating model,” said Paul Godfrey, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue on this path, transforming a traditional media company into one that leverages future opportunities with a structure that supports a new model.”
Is that not some of the most inscrutable bafflegab you've ever tried to decipher? "The transformation continued" indeed! From a "traditional media company into one that leverages future opportunities."
I sure hope they arrive at that "functional operating model" soon. The dysfunctional operating model they've been operating with is getting a little long in the tooth.
And the shareholders must be holding their breath waiting to get a glimpse of the "structure that supports a new model." Will the new model be the first media network to operate entirely without paid employees? Can the operation be functionally operated with unpaid interns? Can they all telecommute from their homes, thereby saving the company the expense of office space?
Speaking of shareholders, one wonders what invisible hand is propping the share price up in the $1.50 range. Maybe it's time to sell off some of that $340 million in "intangible assets" on the balance sheet?
Friday, May 31, 2013
Stinkers to avoid
Postmedia Networks. This dog has had a bit of a rally lately. Don't know why. Perhaps the news of a pay wall stoked the share price a bit, but there's never anything in a Postmedia title that you can't get free somewhere else, so I don't see this going anywhere.
Facebook. Been holding its own in the mid twenties. That's a temporary aberration. There's still millions of teens using Facebook as their platform of choice for cyber-bullying purposes, but beyond that, Facebook has had its moment in the sun.
Bombardier Rec Products, or "DOO" as they so cleverly designated their stock symbol. As in Ski-Doo, Sea-Doo, etc. This was an IPO designed to get the Bain Capital guys their money back for the third time over, and I have no clue what would motivate a sensible investor to park money there. Sea-Doos and Ski-Doos are the province of working class types with disposable income. Guys who used to be $30/hr welders at Caterpillar.
Now they're not.
Any Canada-based gold miner. Barrick is busy remaking itself from the world's biggest gold miner to the world's biggest bankruptcy. Centerra is busy motivating the plebes of Kyrgyzstan to overthrow their government. Hold your nose and take a little loss now instead of a bigger one later.
Facebook. Been holding its own in the mid twenties. That's a temporary aberration. There's still millions of teens using Facebook as their platform of choice for cyber-bullying purposes, but beyond that, Facebook has had its moment in the sun.
Bombardier Rec Products, or "DOO" as they so cleverly designated their stock symbol. As in Ski-Doo, Sea-Doo, etc. This was an IPO designed to get the Bain Capital guys their money back for the third time over, and I have no clue what would motivate a sensible investor to park money there. Sea-Doos and Ski-Doos are the province of working class types with disposable income. Guys who used to be $30/hr welders at Caterpillar.
Now they're not.
Any Canada-based gold miner. Barrick is busy remaking itself from the world's biggest gold miner to the world's biggest bankruptcy. Centerra is busy motivating the plebes of Kyrgyzstan to overthrow their government. Hold your nose and take a little loss now instead of a bigger one later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)