May 16, 2019 - 4:40 PM
READING, Pa. - A news media company with a history of taking over struggling newspapers and then cutting jobs has offered to buy the Reading Eagle out of bankruptcy.
The Reading Eagle Co. said Thursday that it received two bids to buy its assets, but only one of the bids, from MediaNews Group, was qualified. Reading Eagle President and CEO Peter Barbey said in a statement to employees that the MediaNews bid has "neither been accepted nor rejected."
He says the company is working with MediaNews, better known as Digital First Media, to "resolve certain outstanding issues."
Digital First, which is controlled by a New York hedge fund and owns about 200 papers and other publications, is known for deep cost-cutting.
The family-owned Reading Eagle began publishing in 1868. The company's other properties include news-talk radio station WEEU and a weekly newspaper. The company has more than 200 employees.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019