Rivals threaten sale of Philly newspaper

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

The new year has brought little peace among the warring owners of Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers.

Majority owner George Norcross accused his partner Friday of proposing a public auction that could send The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News into bankruptcy for the second time in five years. Norcross, in his own petition, accused rival owner Lewis Katz of rejecting a slew of proposed fixes over the past year, including a buyout of Katz’s shares.

“Your surprise decision to file a motion to dissolve the company risks not just the progress the company has made, but presents a real threat of another bankruptcy,” Norcross and fellow investor William Hankowsky said in a statement Friday.

Katz had brought the ownership feud into court — and public view — after the October firing of Editor Bill Marimow. After several days of hearings, a judge sided with Katz and returned Marimow to the Inquirer newsroom. However, the judge also affirmed the job status of Publisher Bob Hall, the Norcross ally who had fired Marimow.

That left the staff with feuding owners atop the enterprise and an editor working for a publisher who wants him out.

Katz and Norcross have been fighting for nearly a year, after their six-man investor group bought the company in early 2012.

Currently, Katz and Norcross hold equal power under the two-man management committee, even though Norcross now owns 53 percent of the company, which is now called Interstate General Media.

The newspapers have changed hands repeatedly since 2006. The company operates the free Philly.com website along with new, fee-based portals for both the Inquirer and Daily News.