Owner of Orange County Register Files for Bankruptcy

These guys have had an absolutely bizarre business strategy, focusing heavily on print media, which is strange in this day and age, to say the least.

At the O.C. Register, "With bankruptcy filing, local group bids for ownership of Freedom Communications":

When [Aaron] Kushner and [Eric] Spitz took over in July 2012, they stunned an ailing and shrinking newspaper industry. Their bets were heavy on print products. They expanded newspaper sections, added magazines, bought The Press-Enterprise for $27 million in November 2013 and launched the Los Angeles Register in April 2014. In addition, they dramatically increased subscription costs, de-emphasized Web publishing and put up one of the industry’s hardest online paywalls.

Few of those strategies paid off. As losses mounted, the owners turned to layoffs, buyouts and staff furloughs in 2014. The Los Angeles Register folded after five months.

Mirman, a veteran casino marketing executive, took over day-to-day leadership on an interim basis in October 2014 and became the top executive of Freedom and the two newspapers six months later. He said what started as simply a financial fix-it job for him has morphed into a passion to create a profitable and sustainable news operation. He now lives in Irvine.

“I’ve caught the bug of what news journalism can do in its community,” Mirman said. “I’m very intrigued by translating what we do into a long-lasting business. There are ways to make money in new and innovative ways.”

The bankruptcy move is not without risks. Numerous business decisions require court approval. The company gains relief from paying creditors, but those same creditors can wield some power in the process. There’s no guarantee the so-called stalking horse bid by Mirman and his investment team – which includes Michael Harrah, owner of the Santa Ana-based development firm Caribou Industries – will win the bankruptcy auction, which may be held within 90 days. (Harrah purchased the Register’s Santa Ana headquarters in 2014.)

RTWT.