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EspañolTHE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
(Redirected from Berkshire Eagle)
'''The Berkshire Eagle''' is a daily newspaper published in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and covering all of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, as well as four New York communities near Pittsfield. It is considered a newspaper of record for the Berkshire County "hill towns" of Western Massachusetts.
Founded in the early 1890s, ''The Eagle'' has been owned since 1995 by MediaNews Group, which publishes three other daily newspapers in Massachusetts and several others in western New England, including the other leading newspaper based in Berkshire County, the North Adams Transcript.[2]
In 1973, ''The Eagle'' won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.
''The Eagle's last independent publisher was Michael G. Miller, grandson of Kelton Bedell Miller, who founded the paper. Michael was president of Eagle Publishing Group which owned ''The Eagle'', ''The North Adams Transcript'', and three newspapers in Vermont; his brother Mark C. Miller was editor of ''The Eagle'', while brother Kelton B. Miller II was publisher of the Vermont newspapers. A sister, Margo Miller, a writer for ''The Boston Globe'', sat on Eagle Publishing's board.[3]
The paper was said to be struggling financially in the early 1990s, burdened by mismanagement and debt incurred by the decision to purchase new multi-million dollar German-made four-color printing presses. That purchase necessitated that the company expand into larger quarters.
Formerly, ''The Eagle'' had been published using single color (black ink) printing presses that had fit neatly inside the flatiron-shaped Eagle Building on the aptly-named Eagle Street in Pittsfield. That old building, though fully paid for, was too narrow to accommodate the huge new color presses that management was seeking to buy. The unfortunate, and ultimately financially disastrous, side effect of the decision to invest in the new larger presses was that management had to find new quarters in which to install them. Rather than build new, the Millers chose to renovate a nearby former Sheaffer-Eaton stationery company paper mill which they purchased for top dollar. The cost of the entire project -- presses, land, and renovations -- at $23.5 million did not seem unwise at the time because not only was local real estate booming but the regional and national economies as well.[3]
Unknowingly, the Millers had expanded at the peak of a market cycle. By the time construction at the new headquarters was complete, with staff moved in, and 'bugs' worked-out from the new presses, the regional economy was feeling the effects of recession. ''The Eagle's'' advertising revenues plummeted. Worse, the local real estate boom went bust and the extra office spaces that the Millers had included in the renovated structure, spaces they were counting on renting out to help service the company's large new debt, were not attracting any tenants. The result was that the Millers faced a severe cash crunch. Revenues were insufficient to service the hefty eight-year, $17.9 million mortgage the company had taken out with State Street Bank and Trust Company in Boston in order to finance the renovation and new presses. So bad was ''The Eagle's'' cash flow problem that it was rumored that State Street was even threatening foreclosure on the venerable old publishing institution, sometimes referred to as "the New York Times of small dailies."
[3]
The Millers sought relief by making it known in the industry that they were seeking a ''white knight'' -- an outside investor with deep pockets who would help the Millers weather the current fiscal storm (the preferred alternative), or at the very least a buyer for the entire publishing group (so the Millers would not have to sell assets piecemeal and break-up the company). [3]
What they ended-up accepting in 1995 was an offer from MediaNews Group, a company founded by William Dean Singleton of Denver, Colorado. Singleton, the publisher of the Denver Post and owner of a string of daily newspapers throughout the country, was in the business of acquiring publishing properties at firesale prices. Singleton agreed to take over Eagle Publishing Group including all its newspaper and publishing properties and debt, but conditioned his investment on absolute control. The Miller family was "retired"; the purchase by MediaNews was followed by staff layoffs and salary reductions, something the Millers had apparently tried to avoid. [7]
Matt Martinelli, a former sports reporter, is currently the paper's superstar designer. He won a New England Press Association award in 2005, honoring him for writing the best sports story in New England in the paper's circulation size. Derek Gentile, meanwhile, serves as the voice of the youth in Berkshire County and is currently coming out with a novel titled "Murder at Tanglewood."
Eagle editorials of the past thirty-five years have generally leaned hard "Left" with support generally given to Democrat Party candidates. The editorial page editors early-on railed against the War in Iraq, and since 2001 have generally been critical of Bush Administration foreign and domestic policies.
1. "Audit Report: The Berkshire Eagle." Audit Bureau of Circulation, March 31, 2003. Accessed December 7, 2006.
2. Elfland, Mike. "Sentinel & Enterprise Sale Set." ''Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette'', January 8, 1997.
3. "For sale: Newspaper group, good assets, lot of debt." ''Vermont Business Magazine'', February, 1995.
4. "For sale: Newspaper group, good assets, lot of debt." ''Vermont Business Magazine'', February, 1995.
5. "For sale: Newspaper group, good assets, lot of debt." ''Vermont Business Magazine'', February, 1995.
6. "For sale: Newspaper group, good assets, lot of debt." ''Vermont Business Magazine'', February, 1995.
7. "Berkshire Eagle Sale is Pending." ''Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette'', August 8, 1995.
'''The Berkshire Eagle''' is a daily newspaper published in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and covering all of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, as well as four New York communities near Pittsfield. It is considered a newspaper of record for the Berkshire County "hill towns" of Western Massachusetts.
Founded in the early 1890s, ''The Eagle'' has been owned since 1995 by MediaNews Group, which publishes three other daily newspapers in Massachusetts and several others in western New England, including the other leading newspaper based in Berkshire County, the North Adams Transcript.[2]
| Contents |
| History |
| ''The Eagle'' today |
| Editorial Page |
| References |
History
In 1973, ''The Eagle'' won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.
''The Eagle's last independent publisher was Michael G. Miller, grandson of Kelton Bedell Miller, who founded the paper. Michael was president of Eagle Publishing Group which owned ''The Eagle'', ''The North Adams Transcript'', and three newspapers in Vermont; his brother Mark C. Miller was editor of ''The Eagle'', while brother Kelton B. Miller II was publisher of the Vermont newspapers. A sister, Margo Miller, a writer for ''The Boston Globe'', sat on Eagle Publishing's board.[3]
The paper was said to be struggling financially in the early 1990s, burdened by mismanagement and debt incurred by the decision to purchase new multi-million dollar German-made four-color printing presses. That purchase necessitated that the company expand into larger quarters.
Formerly, ''The Eagle'' had been published using single color (black ink) printing presses that had fit neatly inside the flatiron-shaped Eagle Building on the aptly-named Eagle Street in Pittsfield. That old building, though fully paid for, was too narrow to accommodate the huge new color presses that management was seeking to buy. The unfortunate, and ultimately financially disastrous, side effect of the decision to invest in the new larger presses was that management had to find new quarters in which to install them. Rather than build new, the Millers chose to renovate a nearby former Sheaffer-Eaton stationery company paper mill which they purchased for top dollar. The cost of the entire project -- presses, land, and renovations -- at $23.5 million did not seem unwise at the time because not only was local real estate booming but the regional and national economies as well.[3]
Unknowingly, the Millers had expanded at the peak of a market cycle. By the time construction at the new headquarters was complete, with staff moved in, and 'bugs' worked-out from the new presses, the regional economy was feeling the effects of recession. ''The Eagle's'' advertising revenues plummeted. Worse, the local real estate boom went bust and the extra office spaces that the Millers had included in the renovated structure, spaces they were counting on renting out to help service the company's large new debt, were not attracting any tenants. The result was that the Millers faced a severe cash crunch. Revenues were insufficient to service the hefty eight-year, $17.9 million mortgage the company had taken out with State Street Bank and Trust Company in Boston in order to finance the renovation and new presses. So bad was ''The Eagle's'' cash flow problem that it was rumored that State Street was even threatening foreclosure on the venerable old publishing institution, sometimes referred to as "the New York Times of small dailies."
[3]
The Millers sought relief by making it known in the industry that they were seeking a ''white knight'' -- an outside investor with deep pockets who would help the Millers weather the current fiscal storm (the preferred alternative), or at the very least a buyer for the entire publishing group (so the Millers would not have to sell assets piecemeal and break-up the company). [3]
What they ended-up accepting in 1995 was an offer from MediaNews Group, a company founded by William Dean Singleton of Denver, Colorado. Singleton, the publisher of the Denver Post and owner of a string of daily newspapers throughout the country, was in the business of acquiring publishing properties at firesale prices. Singleton agreed to take over Eagle Publishing Group including all its newspaper and publishing properties and debt, but conditioned his investment on absolute control. The Miller family was "retired"; the purchase by MediaNews was followed by staff layoffs and salary reductions, something the Millers had apparently tried to avoid. [7]
''The Eagle'' today
Matt Martinelli, a former sports reporter, is currently the paper's superstar designer. He won a New England Press Association award in 2005, honoring him for writing the best sports story in New England in the paper's circulation size. Derek Gentile, meanwhile, serves as the voice of the youth in Berkshire County and is currently coming out with a novel titled "Murder at Tanglewood."
Editorial Page
Eagle editorials of the past thirty-five years have generally leaned hard "Left" with support generally given to Democrat Party candidates. The editorial page editors early-on railed against the War in Iraq, and since 2001 have generally been critical of Bush Administration foreign and domestic policies.
References
1. "Audit Report: The Berkshire Eagle." Audit Bureau of Circulation, March 31, 2003. Accessed December 7, 2006.
2. Elfland, Mike. "Sentinel & Enterprise Sale Set." ''Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette'', January 8, 1997.
3. "For sale: Newspaper group, good assets, lot of debt." ''Vermont Business Magazine'', February, 1995.
4. "For sale: Newspaper group, good assets, lot of debt." ''Vermont Business Magazine'', February, 1995.
5. "For sale: Newspaper group, good assets, lot of debt." ''Vermont Business Magazine'', February, 1995.
6. "For sale: Newspaper group, good assets, lot of debt." ''Vermont Business Magazine'', February, 1995.
7. "Berkshire Eagle Sale is Pending." ''Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette'', August 8, 1995.
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