If you're surprised, you haven't been paying attention
By LEN HONEYMAN
You've heard, I'm sure, that the company that owns the New Haven Register, Connecticut's second-largest newspaper, has filed for protection and reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Act.
You may not have heard, however, that under the filing, it asks the court permission to pay out $1.7 million in bonuses to 30 top managers and employees if it meets certain criteria.
If you're surprised by either of these facts, you haven't been paying attention.
What this means is that the companies that run the two largest Connecticut newspapers have declared themselves to be bankrupt. It doesn't necessarily means they are closing anytime soon.
The Tribune Co., owner of the Hartford Courant, is itself owned by Sam Zell, a multibillionaire real estate investor who knows little or nothing about newspapers. He's proven that.
The path of the Journal-Register Co. that led, almost as inevitably as a Greek tragedy, to bankruptcy court is much more twisted. I saw much of that from the inside. Grab a drink and get comfortable.
Len Honeyman a politics junkie, a newspaperman who has morphed into a freelance writer and editor. He is president and editor of The Word Hive (www.thewordhive.com )thewordhive@gmail.com). He can't label myself as liberal or conservative ...
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