Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 30 June 2000 — Page 3

FRIDAY, JUNE 30,2000

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

Introducing The NEW Indianapolis Recorder

BY CAROLENE MAYS

Recorder President & General Manager

The Indianapolis Recorder is a 105-year-old publication and is the

those goals have taken shape and different from even two-years ago. ognizes the importance of main- There is an assertiveness and dethe Recorder has made a major The Recorder has moved into taining an advocacy position and termination to be the best publicatransformation in appearance, dis- the digital age and is now in sync speaking to the rights of African tion anywhere. It is truly “Team play, readability and performance, with technology. It is produced and Americans and minonties, there is Recorder. The creativity has been explo- laid out electronically. an emphasis on positive local news, Ourcommunity outreach efforts sive. New concepts and ideas have And, have you checked out people, events and trends. There is aremoreextensive. Inthecommu-

fourth oldest surviving African emerged. The changes are evident www.indianapolisrecorder.com, also the inclusion of national and nity there is a renewed interest and American newspaper in the nation, throughout. the Recorder website? It’s so pro- international stories of interest to excitement. The Recorder has made So what makes it new? Have you noticed more bold gressive requests are coming from the community. The new slogan, new partners and regained some .A lot of things! color, color in all sections, en- publications across the nation for “Preparing a conscious community lost friends. You are asking for the , The Recorder began changing hanced clarity, more photographs help with website development. today and beyond," even speaks to publication to be in more places, in 1990 under the new ownership and creative graphics? It’s all here. Since there is enough negative the journalistic changes. The community spirit is back of local businessman William G. Much of the layout and design is press circulating to keep us buried Internally there is a new atti- and you are to be thanked. Mays. It began to re-evolve two re-developed including the mast- 24-hours aday, the Recorder’s gen- tude. You can see it, but as impor- For many years the Recorder years ago with new objectives and head, section title graphics, col- eral journalistic focus has become tant, you can feel it. New energy, has served the community. It has direction, under new management, umn placement, and the sections much more positive and educa- boldness and enthusiasm abound, been an old friend and a legacy— However now, in the year 2000 themselves-the look is completely tional. Though the Recorder rec- Everyone is a part of the change, and it still getting better.

MARLBORO

Continued from A1

from diseases resulting from smok- years ago, said that smoking reing, according to statistics from the mains a costly habit. Families of Centers for Disease Control, pro- five smokers, he said, can easily testers maintain that tobacco com- spend $500 a month for cigarettes, panics continue to market products which could alternately go towards towards Blacks including an in- a college fund or future financial creasing focus on youth. investments. “This is a means at trying to “Socially, we teach our children protect our young people by mak- that smoking is a requirement for ing them aware of the dangers of social acceptability, and that somesmoking and the negative effects how you’re more cool when you socially, physically and economi- smoke,” admitted Rozell, noting cally,” said Dave Rozell, of the that such images must be removed Indianapolis Commission on Afri- from our consciousness and com-can-American Males. munities. Rozell, who quit smoking 18

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Gannett buys Star’s parent company

By DAWN GILBERTSON The Arizona Republic Central Newspapers Inc., parent of The Arizona Republic and the Indianapolis Star, agreed Wednesday to be acquired by newspaper giant Gannett Co. Inc. for

$2.6 billion.

Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper company and owner of USA Today, will pay $64 per share for Central’s stock, just above today ’ s closing price and more than double the company’s stock price before Central announced it was considering a sale on June 8. The announcement was made after the stock market closed. The deal is the second-largest in newspaper history, after Tribune Co.’s recent $8 billion acquisition of Times Mirror Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times.. Gannett was at the top of most Wall Street analysts’ list of likely suitors for Central, given its deep pockets, ownership of television stations in Arizona and reported longtime interest in the fast-grow-ing Phoenix market, which the Arizona Republic dominates. Also mentioned in the background: strong ties between Central Chairman Louis A. Weil III and Gannett, where he previously worked for nearly 20 years. Central, which one Wall Street analyst has called a crown jewel of midsize newspaper companies, gives Gannett a newspaper foothold in Phoenix, where it already owns the No. 1 television station, NBC affiliate KPNX-TV (Channel 12). The company also owns the NBC affiliates in Kingman and Flagstaff. The combination of the different media outlets will enable it to offer advertisers blanket coverage in one stop. With daily circulation of 464,285, The Arizona Republic will becomeGannett’s largest metropolitan daily, eclipsing current No. 1 Detroit News, which has daily circulation of 238,445. It will give the chaip two papers in the top 20 U.S. daily papers. The Republic ranks No. 15, while Gannett flagship USA Today is No. 2, behind the Wall Street Journal. The sale will end more than five decades of Pulliam family ownership of the Arizona Republic and the Indianapolis Star. Eugene C. Pulliam started the chain in Indiana in the 1920s. A family trust he set up controls 78 percent of Central’s voting power. His son, Eugene S. Pulliam, was executive vice president of Central and publisher of the Indianapolis Star until his death last year. Two of the younger Pulliam’s children are actively involved in the company. Myrta Pulliam is director of electronic news and information for the Indianapolis Star and sits on Central’s board of di-

rectors. Russell Pulliam is associate editor of the Star. Eugene S. Pulliam's nephew is former vice president and Valley resident Dan Quayle. Quayle was on the CNI board for several years, resigning last year after he began his presidential campaign. Quayle's brother Michael is the publisher of Central’s newspaper in Vincennes, Indiana. Central is so intertwined with the Pulliams that its stock symbol is ECP - the founder's initials. Although Central is a well-re-spected company with solid financial results, analysts say four major factors drove the sale: ■ The company's depressed stock price. ■ Changing priorities of the Pulliam family members who control the voting power of Central’s stock. ■ A consolidating industry and the high premiums being paid for other newspapers. ■ The rapidly changing media landscape. The sunken stock price is seen as the overriding factor. Between October and February, Cental's stock fell from $45 to $27 on concerns about the Internet’s impact on newspapers, rising newsprint prices and the impact of a slowing economy on advertising - newspapers’ lifeline. Analysts say Central management made the right moves to inject life back into the stock - such as buying back shares and investing in promising new media ventures- to no avail. Against this backdrop, the newspaper industry isconsolidating. The Internet Age and its up-to-the-minute information has many pundits writing an obit for newspapers. Publishers don’t believe the daily paper is an endangered spe-

cies, but they are teaming up with each other and other media outlets to pool resources, leverage information and offer advertisers onestop shopping in local markets. The year started off with the blockbuster announcement that Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune, was buying Times Mirror, parent of the Los Angeles Times. That $8 billion deal created the third-largest newspaper company based on daily circulation. At the same time, several other newspapers are changing hands. Thomson Corp., the 13th largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., is in the final stages of selling all but one of its 54 dailies in the U.S. and

Canada.

In the consolidation game. Central basically had one choice, analysts say. Despite its dominance in Arizona and Indiana, Central is a relatively small player in the industry. Its $800 million in annual sales last year were dwarfed by sales of $6 billion at the combined Tribune Times Mirror, $5.3 billion at Gannett and $3 billion-plus at * Knight-Ridder and the New York

Times.

“A small company has limited ability to make aggressive strategic moves, such as acquisitions, investments or, jn sotnq cases, expanded coverage of important topics,” Jonathan Knee, managing director of Morgan Stanley Dean Winer’s media group, said in a recent Wall Street Journal column arguing for even more consolidation in the business. Adds CS First Boston publishing analyst Steven Barlow, “The rule of the jungle appears to be the bigger will survive and the undervalued have to put themselves up for sale.”

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Tuesday,July4th 9:00 p.M.

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Bring your radio and tune it to Q95 (94.7 FM) for a synchronized concert of patriotic and popular music ^ Come early and enjoy a day of music, food and fun j at the Freedom Festival.

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER USPS 262-660 0uMstMd weekly by: Th« (feorga P. Stewart frinling Co, Inc., P.O. Box 18499,2901N [Tacoma Ave , Indianapolis, IN 46218. Entered as Second Class Mailer under Act 41 March 7, 1870. Periodicala paid at Indianapolis. IN POSTMASTER: Send Address changes to: Th» Indtanipolfa Recorder P.O. Box 18499,2901N. Tacoma Ave., Indianapolis. IN 46218 Subscription price by moil or carrier: $39 per year; $29 for 6 moa.,75 cents per copy [National advertising representative: Amalgamated Publishers Inc., 45 W 45th [St. New York, NY 10036. The National Newspaper Publishers Association. Central Indiana Publishers Association, Hoosier State Press Association. SUBSCRIBERS BY MAS: Wo are not fjisponslble for replacing issues missed due ip change o< address or late renewals Please allow two weeks when placing a new subscription or change at address order Cal (317) 924-5143

C 1999 AitwiIbcK Corp

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