PORTLAND — The newest player in Maine media met reporters Tuesday to discuss the future of the newspapers and Web sites he just acquired and how he plans to strengthen them financially.
Richard L. Connor said he had been working for about 18 months to buy the Maine-based assets of The Seattle Times Co., with the deal finally closing Monday. The properties acquired by Connor's group, MaineToday Media Inc., are the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville – all daily newspapers – as well as MaineToday.com, the Coastal Journal and The Maine Switch. The businesses employ roughly 500 people.
Connor will serve as editor and publisher of the three daily papers.
The sale price was not disclosed, although analysts have speculated that it's a fraction of the estimated $230 million that The Seattle Times Co. paid for the properties 11 years ago.
Connor, a Bangor native, left the state 41 years ago when he took a summer internship in Michigan at a newspaper. He has owned newspapers in Texas, and currently owns The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where he is editor and publisher.
Accompanying Connor at his news conference Tuesday were his wife, Deborah, his 8-year-old daughter, Meredith, and his two adult children, Rory Connor and Christy Tanner. Richard Connor also appeared on local TV news programs Tuesday night.
Asked about the editorial direction of the newspapers, Connor said he doesn't plan to "foist" his personal opinions on the institution. Connor, who will be writing a weekly column, said friends have described him as a "bleeding heart conservative."
He said he has no plans to merge the two central Maine publications, the Morning Sentinel and the Kennebec Journal.
"That's not in our plans. We like both papers, individually, a lot," said Connor, adding that each publication is financially strong.
He did say he'd like to see more collaboration between the Portland and central Maine publications. He also said he plans to begin adding pages to the Press Herald as quickly as possible.
Maddy Corson, a former publisher of the Press Herald/Telegram and a member of the Guy Gannett family that sold the Maine newspapers to The Seattle Times in 1998, said she is "very, very excited" about the deal announced this week.
Although the entire media business is facing difficult times, she suggested that Connor is "a man for his time." Connor will be able to modernize the business, she said, and he's a newspaperman to his core.
"It's wonderful that he's from Maine," Corson said.
At the news conference, Connor reiterated that the Maine media products will be profitable by the end of the year, in part by making sure that expenses and revenues match up. Connor noted that 31 non-union employees lost their jobs this week when they were not retained. That saved the company money and also streamlined the executive chain, he said.
Looking forward, there might be as many as 100 more positions eliminated. Connor said he hopes that number will be smaller, and that the layoffs can be made all at once.
He noted again that he plans to sell the two Press Herald/Telegram buildings in downtown Portland, as well as a parking garage on Chestnut Street. He said he has a "very committed and interested buyer," and he plans to close the transaction within the next six months – "probably less than that."
He said the Press Herald/Telegram news and advertising departments likely will stay under one roof in Portland, while other departments will move to the company's printing plant in South Portland.
Connor said he currently doesn't have plans to move to Maine full time. His daughter is enrolled in the third grade in Pennsylvania, he said.
However, Connor said that when he bought the paper in Pennsylvania, he didn't have plans to move there from Texas....
Richard L. Connor said he had been working for about 18 months to buy the Maine-based assets of The Seattle Times Co., with the deal finally closing Monday. The properties acquired by Connor's group, MaineToday Media Inc., are the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville – all daily newspapers – as well as MaineToday.com, the Coastal Journal and The Maine Switch. The businesses employ roughly 500 people.
Connor will serve as editor and publisher of the three daily papers.
The sale price was not disclosed, although analysts have speculated that it's a fraction of the estimated $230 million that The Seattle Times Co. paid for the properties 11 years ago.
Connor, a Bangor native, left the state 41 years ago when he took a summer internship in Michigan at a newspaper. He has owned newspapers in Texas, and currently owns The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where he is editor and publisher.
Accompanying Connor at his news conference Tuesday were his wife, Deborah, his 8-year-old daughter, Meredith, and his two adult children, Rory Connor and Christy Tanner. Richard Connor also appeared on local TV news programs Tuesday night.
Asked about the editorial direction of the newspapers, Connor said he doesn't plan to "foist" his personal opinions on the institution. Connor, who will be writing a weekly column, said friends have described him as a "bleeding heart conservative."
He said he has no plans to merge the two central Maine publications, the Morning Sentinel and the Kennebec Journal.
"That's not in our plans. We like both papers, individually, a lot," said Connor, adding that each publication is financially strong.
He did say he'd like to see more collaboration between the Portland and central Maine publications. He also said he plans to begin adding pages to the Press Herald as quickly as possible.
Maddy Corson, a former publisher of the Press Herald/Telegram and a member of the Guy Gannett family that sold the Maine newspapers to The Seattle Times in 1998, said she is "very, very excited" about the deal announced this week.
Although the entire media business is facing difficult times, she suggested that Connor is "a man for his time." Connor will be able to modernize the business, she said, and he's a newspaperman to his core.
"It's wonderful that he's from Maine," Corson said.
At the news conference, Connor reiterated that the Maine media products will be profitable by the end of the year, in part by making sure that expenses and revenues match up. Connor noted that 31 non-union employees lost their jobs this week when they were not retained. That saved the company money and also streamlined the executive chain, he said.
Looking forward, there might be as many as 100 more positions eliminated. Connor said he hopes that number will be smaller, and that the layoffs can be made all at once.
He noted again that he plans to sell the two Press Herald/Telegram buildings in downtown Portland, as well as a parking garage on Chestnut Street. He said he has a "very committed and interested buyer," and he plans to close the transaction within the next six months – "probably less than that."
He said the Press Herald/Telegram news and advertising departments likely will stay under one roof in Portland, while other departments will move to the company's printing plant in South Portland.
Connor said he currently doesn't have plans to move to Maine full time. His daughter is enrolled in the third grade in Pennsylvania, he said.
However, Connor said that when he bought the paper in Pennsylvania, he didn't have plans to move there from Texas....
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