Strike Two: Columbian seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

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It is extremely difficult not to feel a sense of satisfaction that the Columbian's Day of Reckoning is fast approaching.

I hate to revel in the agony the workers there must feel. We are all in a recession... but to each and every one of us facing unemployment or some other bleak prospect like the workers at this newspaper, the recession has become a depression.

This day has literally been coming for years. The newspaper has acted with an unspeakable arrogance. They believe their view is the only view, and they set out to personally damage those who oppose their Utopian vision for our community.

Their bias is legendary. Their ability to overlook the faults of those they support while exaggerating the faults of those they despise is the stuff making Germans longing for the days of Das Reich.

Just yesterday, they did a total hatchet job on Sen. Don Benton. That, of course, is the follow up to the hatchet job John Laird did on Benton just a few days ago.

A sober, balanced perspective is what we seek. This newspaper, for example, has shown itself to be, admirably enough, a staunch opponent of the organized crime effort known as the Cowlitz Casino.

Yet, when our federal officials lack the courage to take a straight position on that issue, does this rag take them to task for their cowardice? Has it, or even will it, cost any of these officials the lackey-leftist endorsement of this newspaper?

Why would I even ask? They're democrats. And this newspaper ALWAYS endorses democrat incumbents... and in the last election, ONLY endorsed democrats for ANY open seat; from the Presidency down to the state representatives.

Every, single, time.

If you're to the right of Lenin, you WILL come in for abuse by the editorial page editor, one John Laird, who CLAIMS to be an "independent..." but he's a liar.

This guy never misses an opportunity to tattoo anyone remotely conservative. And that, of course, is his privilege.

But to expect any of us receiving his abuse to then want to pay money for the privilege is the height of absurdity.

Further, this newspaper ignores those who disagree, and they all-too-typically get the tunnel vision shared by most who congregate in downtown Vancouver proper. An example of that is their rabid support of wasting $4 BILLION to bring light rail into Vancouver, an effort that will suck $100,000,00 each and every year out of our economy... dollars these staunch supporters will NOT have to pay on a daily basis, while they support the despicable gerrymandering and forcing tens of thousands of us to pay their fees without ever having the courtesy to ask us first.

It is nothing less than fiscal rape.

It's bad enough that we have a recession doing the same thing... but for us to do it to ourselves?

In spite of these common-sense concerns, the fact is that even a cursory review of these issues shows no in-depth reporting of the impacts on the working poor of this unneeded and unwanted monstrosity. Yet, this very paper has REPEATEDLY gone so far as to print bogus polls to support their position, a series of lies that amounts to the total abrogation of anything remotely related to journalistic ethics or integrity.

This is not new news. Over ten years ago, a Columbian reporter expressed concerns over the integrity of the profession:

NEWSPAPERS TRY TO REGAIN CREDIBILITY WITH READERS
From: The Columbian
Date: July 28, 1997 Author: MIKE FEINSILBER

WASHINGTON -- Would you believe this? A lot of editors worry that you wuldn't -- that people are less willing these days to believe what they read in the nespapers. They fear that, for a variety of reasons, newspapers are suffering a crisis in credibility, losing the irreplaceable asset of believability. The press has a lot to worry about these days: stagnant circulation, too few young readers, the Internet's ...Almost 12 years later, and the message has not been received by this organization, even though it originated with one of its own reporters.

Hundreds of comments, thousands of observations... no changes where it matters.

Bankruptcy is the inevitable result. And as optimistic as Scott Campbell appears to be, the outcome becomes increasingly inevitable as he sticks with the failures installed as editor and editorial page editor.

They will not change.

And neither will the outcomes resulting from their efforts.

Next stop, liquidation.

And they cannot say they have not been repeatedly warned.





Columbian seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Friday, May 1 4:14 p.m.

BY JULIA ANDERSON
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

The Columbian Publishing Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday in a move to resolve credit issues with Bank of America, primary lender on its multimillion dollar downtown building project completed last year.

Scott Campbell, publisher of the independent daily newspaper serving Clark County and Southwest Washington, said operations will continue unaffected by the filing and that his company will emerge from the situation in a few months "with renewed vigor and excitement for the future."

The Vancouver-based three-generation family-owned publishing company with 259 employees operates The Columbian newspaper, established in 1890 and the Web site www.columbian.com.

"Our overall audience remains strong - and we are still an excellent way for advertisers to get their messages to Clark County buyers," Campbell said. "Our new downtown office building, which could have been paid off with our modest profits in a normal or even a conventional bad economy, contributed to our problem. But our debt peaked at the same time the economy stumbled, and the scope of the downturn exceeded my worst fears," he said.

Friday's filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tacoma showed The Columbian owes approximately $17 million to the bank and to a host of unsecured creditors. Those creditors include Mason Nolan, a former Columbian executive and Washougal resident, $179,263; North Pacific Paper Corp., Longview, $95,000; GE Captial Solutions, Torrance, Calif., $84,331 and Page Coop, a production supplier, $30,000 and Inland Empire Paper Co., Spokane, $27,893.

The Columbian's difficulties began almost as soon as it moved into a new six-story $40 million office building at 415 W. Sixth St. in downtown Vancouver in January 2008. A sour economy and costs related to the building - where newspaper, advertising, circulation and newsroom operations occupied four floors - triggered three rounds of company-wide layoffs last year that cut more than 100 positions from operations. In December, the newspaper was forced to relocate to its former address at 701 W. Eighth St., where it had operated since the 1950s.

Al Kennedy, an attorney with Tonkon Torp LLC in Portland and The Columbian's bankruptcy representative, said he was confident the newspaper would be able to restructure its debt and emerge from bankruptcy in six months or sooner.

"Columbian creditors need to know that the company has gone through some significant changes in operations and restored itself to a cash-flow positive basis. The business is here to stay. It will reorganize and continue to serve the community."

Campbell pointed to several companies that recently transitioned through a Chapter 11 filing including Macy's, Delta Air Lines, Toys R Us and Shilo Inns, based in Portland. Currently in Chapter 11 are The Shane Co jewelers and Pioneer Place in downtown Portland as well as several media companies including those that own the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

"The Columbian has seen a 40 percent decline in advertising dollars over the past several years, most of this decline in the past year," Campbell said. "In response, we have reorganized, particularly over the past year, and we are positioned to come through this bad economy."

He credited Columbian employees for picking up additional responsibilities and bringing a "new level of teamwork, creativity and focus to the operation" that has been essential to its success.

Meanwhile, space in two top floors in the new Sixth Street building remains mostly leased, but ground-floor retail space has not been occupied. Tenants have not been found for the empty four floors once occupied by the newspaper, nor has a buyer been found for the building. Campbell is using NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson commercial brokers to market the building.

The Columbian advised customers - readers and advertisers - in October that a Chapter 11 filing might occur because of a deteriorating business environment. Foreclosure action in early April by Bank of America appeared to set the stage.

The debt reorganization is complicated because the publishing company as well as a separate entity called Downtown Vitality Partners, owned by the Campbell family, are both debtors to Bank of America.

DVP owes money on the purchase of the new building site and construction costs related to the building's shell, while the publishing company owes the bank for four floors of office space build-out.

The publishing company is seeking Chapter 11 protection, not DVP, Campbell pointed out. DVP, separately, owes Bank of America $27 million.

Doug Ness, Columbian chief financial officer, said Bank of America officials have been working well with the publishing company and with the plan put in front of them. "We don't see significant disagreement between us and the bank," Ness said. "It now appears useful to the bank to complete the negotiations and final settlement through the Chapter 11 process."