Koch Brothers The Media

Koch Brothers Pass on Buying Tribune Co. Papers

Good news — the Koch Brothers have decided to take a pass on purchasing Tribune Co. newspapers.

From the LA Times

Billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch have scrapped their efforts to buy the Los Angeles Times and other Tribune Co. newspapers, a Koch Industries spokeswoman said.

Word that the politically conservative brothers were interested in the chain’s eight newspapers surfaced four months ago, prompting protests from labor unions and other groups who said they feared the papers’ coverage would be skewed to favor anti-union objectives.

And the bad news?

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., Orange County Register owner Aaron Kushner and local Southern California philanthropist and businessman Eli Broad are all believed to be interested in the newspapers, Doctor said.

The Koch Brothers have decided to pass, but News Corp. may still be interested.

It’s unsettling that the fates of so much of our news media and public institutions are decided on the whims of sharks.