We have beauty pageants. We have interview shows. We should not mix them. Case in point: Miss California USA. (To be fair, she did much better than Miss Teen South Carolina, and had she not said “opposite marriage” - which, when you think of it, makes sense, but these girls aren’t known for thinking on their feet - she’d have probably been okay. But saying anything of substance while you’re wearing those earrings is just impossible. No one hears what you say.)
Okay, tell me again why I would want to do this? (Thanks to Nick for the heads-up on this one). So, let me get this straight: I’m basically giving you a 15-year, interest-free loan of $25M or so, and for that, I get front-row seats and the right to “hobnob” with guys with high school educations. Where do I sign up for that?
You know what the problem is with WPS right now? The soccer’s just not very good yet. It’s going to take time.
I find myself very anxious lately. But Diet Coke seems to help. Go figure.
Today’s high in the Valley: 95, they tell me. Summer (otherwise known as Six Months In Hades) has begun.
The people say “Newspapers aren’t important to us.” The government says “We must intervene because we think newspapers are important.” The people say “WTF? It’s government of, by and for the people, right?” Or, they should. NOTE TO NEWSPAPERS AND AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS: YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. We want something else. Change with the times, don’t wait for us to bail out your failing business model.
Cool article here about the branding and launch of Seattle Sounders FC, an early-season MLS success story.
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You did miss something Ken. The new Cubs ownership is offering what are essentially preferred shares with a 6.25% annual return. They are not publicly traded you get other benefits. I am not looking to buy, but some will.
I saw tomorrow’s forecast for North Hades is 99. Of course given the cold rain coming down in DC I might trade. I won’t be trading in August. looks like my parents beat feet to Indiana just in time.
At least you know what weather you’re going to get for the next six months there in the frying pan. Here in Northeast Ohio, we only have three seasons: Summer, Winter and What the Fuck. Summer lasts from June to August, What the Fuck is September to May, and winter is six to eight weeks scatted between November and April.
It was nice and in the 70’s this past weekend, now they’re telling us it will be back in the 40’s by midweek, but getting back into the 70’s this weekend. What the Fuck?! It will not suprise me to see snow at least once more.
Yeah, I missed that part of it on first reading, but still don’t understand it.
Given the likely appreciation in value of the franchise over the next 15 years, I still think you’re getting screwed if you can only get your original investment back at the end of the deal, even with dividends.
I was excited to click on the comments section to see if anyone else found Miss California’s earrings distracting. Then, I remembered your target audience.
Oh well.
Did that girl not understand that making an enemy of Perez Hilton was not a good idea? Well, at least now he has something to do this week.
Is there or is there not something into which I could put $25M and get a better rate of return? And buy my own damn front-row seats and skip the deep conversations with Aramis Ramirez?
There are likely better investments for your money, but the benefits will attract some Cub fans looking for a safe investment.
The 6.25 percent interest simply means that for every $100 invested you will receive a ~$3.125 dividend check every 6 months. I have had a big piece of my retirement in preferred stocks for the last 6 months. They take the thrill out of investing, which is not a bad thing these days.
BTW, where these preferred stocks are tradeable their price predictably rises every time a dividend payment date approaches, then plunges the next day. You only have to own the stock that day to get the check. It looks like these won’t be tradeable.
Odd how the government — the most common target of the watchdog role newspapers serve — wants to save newspapers while the public — which stands to gain the most from said watchdog role — is, at best, apathetic about the fate of newspapers.
You are correct that the business model is fscked, although I will add it is a rare businessman indeed who can give his product away for free and still survive.
I don’t think it’s correct to lump newspapers and the auto industry together, as though they both were approaching their problems in the same panhandling way. I’m not aware of any newspapers begging for government bailouts the way some auto companies have been doing.
Maybe newspapers’ business models are all wrong, designed for a bygone era, but that doesn’t mean that they’re asking for government to solve their problems for them. They know that their problems are long-term ones and that an infusion of government cash won’t solve them. Auto companies are failing and newspapers also are failing. That doesn’t mean that because auto companies are asking for bailouts, then newspapers must also be asking for bailouts.
Even if this John Kerry proposal were to become law, I can’t see many newspapers taking advantage of it. Maybe I will be proven wrong, but my guess is that most would choose to take their chances in the marketplace, slim though those chances may be, rather than turn themselves into government house organs.
Perhaps I am not viewing all of this from a very objective perspective, however, since I worked for newspapers for nearly 40 years.
I did not mean that newspapers were begging for a bailout. That was written poorly on my part. I don’t believe they are (or haven’t yet).
I’m not sure that “choosing to take their chances in the marketplace” is such a great strategy. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.”
If they’re going to make real, systemic change and join the 21st century, great. The people who figure out how to do that will prosper. Those who continue to cling to the old ways of doing things will be gone.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:44 am
You did miss something Ken. The new Cubs ownership is offering what are essentially preferred shares with a 6.25% annual return. They are not publicly traded you get other benefits. I am not looking to buy, but some will.
I saw tomorrow’s forecast for North Hades is 99. Of course given the cold rain coming down in DC I might trade. I won’t be trading in August. looks like my parents beat feet to Indiana just in time.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:47 am
As written, I see this:
“The preferred shares would represent an ownership interest in the team but confer no voting privileges or other rights of control.”
Okay, so, again, why?
“Investors would be entitled to a 6.5% dividend on their shares, according to people familiar with the terms.”
Someone’s going to have to explain to me what that means if I invest $25M. Because I’m clueless when it comes to that.
“After 15 years, they’d get their original investment back without sharing in any appreciation in the value of the franchise over that period.”
So, again, why would I do it? Front row seats and hanging with Mr. Soto?
April 20th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
At least you know what weather you’re going to get for the next six months there in the frying pan. Here in Northeast Ohio, we only have three seasons: Summer, Winter and What the Fuck. Summer lasts from June to August, What the Fuck is September to May, and winter is six to eight weeks scatted between November and April.
It was nice and in the 70’s this past weekend, now they’re telling us it will be back in the 40’s by midweek, but getting back into the 70’s this weekend. What the Fuck?! It will not suprise me to see snow at least once more.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Dividend payments ain’t exactly in the same realm as “interest free”.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Yeah, I missed that part of it on first reading, but still don’t understand it.
Given the likely appreciation in value of the franchise over the next 15 years, I still think you’re getting screwed if you can only get your original investment back at the end of the deal, even with dividends.
But I ain’t no financial genius by any means.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I was excited to click on the comments section to see if anyone else found Miss California’s earrings distracting. Then, I remembered your target audience.
Oh well.
Did that girl not understand that making an enemy of Perez Hilton was not a good idea? Well, at least now he has something to do this week.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Is there or is there not something into which I could put $25M and get a better rate of return? And buy my own damn front-row seats and skip the deep conversations with Aramis Ramirez?
April 21st, 2009 at 8:39 am
There are likely better investments for your money, but the benefits will attract some Cub fans looking for a safe investment.
The 6.25 percent interest simply means that for every $100 invested you will receive a ~$3.125 dividend check every 6 months. I have had a big piece of my retirement in preferred stocks for the last 6 months. They take the thrill out of investing, which is not a bad thing these days.
BTW, where these preferred stocks are tradeable their price predictably rises every time a dividend payment date approaches, then plunges the next day. You only have to own the stock that day to get the check. It looks like these won’t be tradeable.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:44 am
Odd how the government — the most common target of the watchdog role newspapers serve — wants to save newspapers while the public — which stands to gain the most from said watchdog role — is, at best, apathetic about the fate of newspapers.
You are correct that the business model is fscked, although I will add it is a rare businessman indeed who can give his product away for free and still survive.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I don’t think it’s correct to lump newspapers and the auto industry together, as though they both were approaching their problems in the same panhandling way. I’m not aware of any newspapers begging for government bailouts the way some auto companies have been doing.
Maybe newspapers’ business models are all wrong, designed for a bygone era, but that doesn’t mean that they’re asking for government to solve their problems for them. They know that their problems are long-term ones and that an infusion of government cash won’t solve them. Auto companies are failing and newspapers also are failing. That doesn’t mean that because auto companies are asking for bailouts, then newspapers must also be asking for bailouts.
Even if this John Kerry proposal were to become law, I can’t see many newspapers taking advantage of it. Maybe I will be proven wrong, but my guess is that most would choose to take their chances in the marketplace, slim though those chances may be, rather than turn themselves into government house organs.
Perhaps I am not viewing all of this from a very objective perspective, however, since I worked for newspapers for nearly 40 years.
April 21st, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I did not mean that newspapers were begging for a bailout. That was written poorly on my part. I don’t believe they are (or haven’t yet).
I’m not sure that “choosing to take their chances in the marketplace” is such a great strategy. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.”
If they’re going to make real, systemic change and join the 21st century, great. The people who figure out how to do that will prosper. Those who continue to cling to the old ways of doing things will be gone.