The Squire's Son, Bullish on Print

[hogs86]

This comes from the WP and was done in July. With all of this Dan Snyder BS we have put up with for the last 12 years. Does anyone wonder if John Kent Cooke would have bought the skins what would have happened. I found this from the WP. It makes me think of the glory days and RFK.

By Thomas Heath
Sunday, July 26, 2009

Finally.

Someone who does not think my industry is a dinosaur headed for extinction.
John Kent Cooke, former president of the Washington Redskins and son of the legendary entrepreneur Jack Kent Cooke, has followed his late father into the newspaper business.

Last week, Cooke bought three daily newspapers and 10 weeklies in North Carolina for an undisclosed sum from Cox Enterprises, the century-old Atlanta-based media conglomerate. The acquisition is a major expansion of Cooke Communications LLC, where he is chairman of the board. It already owns the Key West Citizen daily newspaper, a string of Florida weeklies and a Web site for travelers to the Keys.

When I saw the news release last week from Cox, I thought to myself: What is Cooke thinking?

The parties wouldn't disclose the price, but I estimate through industry metrics that the three North Carolina dailies -- in Greenville, Rocky Mount and Elizabeth City -- alone cost $25 million to $30 million. The weeklies, which have a total circulation of 37,382, probably cost an additional $5 million or so.




Link http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072404266.html

[Biggie]

Nice to hear he's doing well, but it doesn't have anything to do with the Redskins.

[hogs86]

Nice to hear he's doing well, but it doesn't have anything to do with the Redskins.


Yes, can anyone answer this question. Why did Jack Kent Cooke not just give the skins to his family??

[GreenspanDan]

i don't know. maybe he assumed john would be able to buy it, didn't anticipate the then-insane $800 million dollar selling price. if he had merely bequeathed it to him, there would have been tremendous tax. maybe it was an attempt to keep the team in the family while circumventing an estate tax of some kind. just a guess.

[RedskinsDave]

Yes, can anyone answer this question. Why did Jack Kent Cooke not just give the skins to his family??

He didn't slowly hand over the team and then left it in a trust. In order for John to buy the team, he had to compete and didn't have the money to do so. If Jack had slowly given John the team, it wouldn't have been an issue. It looked almost as if he didn't want John to be able to buy it. Who knows why.

[oldskinfan]

I wound NOT be excited to hear if our team owner was going to make his fortune in the print business without a clear online strategy.

[GreenspanDan]

so if john kent cooke were owner of the redskins, do you think he'd be investing in leather helmets?

[skins74]

so if john kent cooke were owner of the redskins, do you think he'd be investing in leather helmets?

Nice one!

[Farmer Ted]

He didn't slowly hand over the team and then left it in a trust. In order for John to buy the team, he had to compete and didn't have the money to do so. If Jack had slowly given John the team, it wouldn't have been an issue. It looked almost as if he didn't want John to be able to buy it. Who knows why.

Maybe because his son is the kind of guy who buys into the newspaper business in 2009. He was probably investing heaving in 8-track tapes in the 90's.

[ChiefPowhatan17]

Interesting stuff. So would you rather have the guy who is buying up newspaper companies, when most are going under, or the guy who buys Six Flags and Johnny Rockets?

[Farmer Ted]

Interesting stuff. So would you rather have the guy who is buying up newspaper companies, when most are going under, or the guy who buys Six Flags and Johnny Rockets?

I'll take the gas chamber. Or maybe lethal injection.

[NCskinsfanatic]

I get the Rocky Mount telegram , used to live in Elizabeth City and was born in Greenville so Cooke's got my papers covered lol. But on the topic of Cooke I really, really wish he had been successful in his bid to own the Redskins.

[Keino]

Investing millions in a medium that is about dead is probably a good example of why the Squire didn't leave ole Johnny Boy the team.

Newspapers are a dying breed. Ask anyone who sells ad space in them....

Edit: Of course I should have looked at Chief Powhatan and Farmer Ted's responses.

[MoonshineDelight]

He didn't slowly hand over the team and then left it in a trust. In order for John to buy the team, he had to compete and didn't have the money to do so. If Jack had slowly given John the team, it wouldn't have been an issue. It looked almost as if he didn't want John to be able to buy it. Who knows why.

I agree.. Jack didn't care for pikers and underachievers. I suspect he knew his sons were products of privilege and circumstance. Jack admired winners.. look at his foundation. Its purely for older kids that have already demonstrated achievement and drive but lack resources.

[redskin_rich]

He didn't slowly hand over the team and then left it in a trust. In order for John to buy the team, he had to compete and didn't have the money to do so. If Jack had slowly given John the team, it wouldn't have been an issue. It looked almost as if he didn't want John to be able to buy it. Who knows why.
The tax burden would have been 50%. Also, Jack underestimated the value. I don't think any of the other teams handed down to kin, involved owning a stadium too.

[Keino]

The tax burden would have been 50%. Also, Jack underestimated the value. I don't think any of the other teams handed down to kin, involved owning a stadium too.

He could have estate planned around that issue. Trusts own property all the time. He could have kept the team in his family without extra burden to his heirs.

[redskin_rich]

He could have estate planned around that issue. Trusts own property all the time. He could have kept the team in his family without extra burden to his heirs.

Well, Jack was a self made man. John certainly didn't seem to have even a spark of his old man's fire. Perhaps Ole Jack figured if his son wasn't resourceful enough to retain the team, then he didn't deserve to.

Jack did leave John 10% of the estate, whatever happened.

[Charlz]

I wound NOT be excited to hear if our team owner was going to make his fortune in the print business without a clear online strategy.

Good point, you obviously work in online sales/marketing. I have seen that the types of papers that he is buying can be quite lucrative due to print ad sales and fly under the radar of regional/national media competition due to their position in the community.