Buffetting the News

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett(Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)Richmond, Va.-based media conglomerate Media General, Inc. expects to close a deal on June 25 in which it will unload 63 newspapers to the BH Media Group, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., for a cool $142 million in cash.

In a company press release reported on Marketwatch.com, Media General said its dailies and weeklies in the southeastern U.S., except for its Florida holdings, along with Web sites and tablet and mobile apps, are part of the deal. The media outlets will be managed by World Media Enterprises, Inc., a sister company of the Omaha World Herald Co., which also is part of the BH Media Group newspaper stable.

Media General, which has concentrated on its digital and broadcast holdings in recent years, owns 18 network-affiliated television stations and their Web sites. A $400 million term loan and a $45 million revolving line of credit from Berkshire Hathaway to Media General was also finalized in a separate credit agreement, according to the press release.

Mutual of Omaha: Buffett & World-Herald Share the Love

Image via WikipediaBillionaire Berkshire Hathaway Chair Warren Buffett continues to bolster his Nebraska presence with the purchase of the Omaha World-Herald ("OWH"), the paper announced today.

Berkshire Hathaway will be acquiring OWH, the nation's 49th largest daily newspaper, from the Peter Kiewith Foundation and the paper's employee shareholders.  The paper had been the nation's last employee-owned major daily as Berkshire Hathaway is poised to become its fifth owner since it was founded in 1885. Terry Kroeger is expected to remain as the paper's publisher and president, according to the OWH online story.

The OWH owns a number of smaller papers, including the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Nonpareil along with papers in North Platte and Scottsbluff, Nebraska, among other publications.

Buffalo News Putting End to Hidden Posters

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The Buffalo News, the only newspaper owned by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, will no longer allow anonymous comments to stories in their online edition.

In the coming weeks, the daily newspaper serving the Buffalo/Niagra Falls market will require its Website readers to complete an online form that requires readers to disclose their name, town, and telephone number. Any posted comment following news stories will include the name and town of the blogger.

 The newspaper's online editor hopes the new policy will elevate discourse and provide a measure of accountability to readers who post comments. In the past, the newspaper has tried several measures to curb vitriolic and incendiary anonymous posts, including not permitting comments after certain stories editors believed might attract hateful commentary.

The News acknowledges its new practice is labor-intensive, but is hopeful it will raise the level of discussion.