Brian Lambert For me, the on-going Par Ridder saga/scandal/circus has become an anthropological study as much as legal story. I’ve seen the rich operate before, but rarely with such a flagrant indifference to moment and setting. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve misspent thousands of hours fawning over movie and TV stars, (and local TV news readers … Read more
It comes as a relief to find out I’m not the only one who can’t get his head around why Avista Capital Partners didn’t sever ties with Par Ridder the first day they heard about his non-compete problem? I am not sure, nor are a handful of local attorneys I’ve spoken with in recent days, … Read more
A little after 11 this morning Par Ridder took the stand in his own defense. It would be an understatement to say he and his legal team have a ways to go to get back in the game. The battle is over him essentially waiving his own non-compete to leave St. Paul for Minneapolis and … Read more
As I watched close to a dozen attorneys negotiate out the last few details before opening the temporary injunction hearing against Par Ridder in the Ramsey County Courthouse this morning, I couldn’t help but run numbers and wonder how many friendly telephone switchboard ladies you could buy for the amount of cash that was being … Read more
Like the ice sheets of Greenland, the American newspaper industry appears to be collapsing faster than the worst pessimists thought possible. Recently the Wall Street Journal ran a story in which Avista Capital Partners, the investment firm that has owned the Star Tribune since early March, conceded that its half-billion-dollar Minnesota toy is producing cash … Read more
Thanks to a friend with HBO On-Demand I finally saw The Sopranos finale. I watched it yesterday, ten days or 10,000 news cycles and alternating waves of outrage, acclaim and, (see Bill and Hillary’s variation), iconic parody later. A week and a half ago, when I realized I wasn’t going to “share the moment” with … Read more
Strib Publisher Par Ridder confirmed the four-out-of-a-possible-five block real estate sale to the Vikings with the following memo. Do note all the fraternally united, brothers-in-arms “team” verbiage; “we,” “our,” “us.” . . . Our real estate deal with the Vikings by Par Ridder, Publisher and CEO June 20, 2007 – “It’s official. We have a … Read more
With all the attention on various executive fiascos and staff reductions at the Star Tribune, the situation at the Pioneer Press has received relatively little coverage lately. My apologies there. But last night saw a brief (one-hour) and reasonably cordial opening round of contract negotiations between the Newspaper Guild and new owner, MediaNews, headed by … Read more
In a memorable quote to City Pages’ Paul Demko, Star Tribune editor Nancy Barnes tried to explain the rationale behind mobilizing troops toward the suburbs, Bloomington in particular. Demko wrote: “Editor Barnes concedes that ‘it’s been a difficult week,’ but says her mission remains the same: more online, more in-depth coverage like the paper’s 3M … Read more
Commenting on my previous post about the Avista-Zygi Wilf real estate deal(s) and the importance of high transparency on the part of the Strib as it reports and comments on the story, “bart” asks the following: “What’s the basis of the charge that Avista currently or will direct positive coverage of the potential stadium? Is … Read more