Washington City Paper’s Parent Company Files for Chapter 11; ‘This Is All About a Fresh Start’ Says C.E.O.

Matt Haber — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:25:50 -0400

Jim Romenesko points us towards an post from Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple in which he announces that Creative Loafing, his paper's parent company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to Mr. Wemple, it's really not that big a deal—in fact, it might be a good thing—since, according to Creative Loafing C.E.O., Ben Eason (whom Mr. Wemple paraphrases), the fiing "would allow the six papers in the Creative Loafing portfolio to establish a greater online presence while the company reorganizes its operations."

Mr. Wemple goes on to quote Mr. Eason as saying:

'I do think that the Reader and Washington City Paper and Creative Loafing are all far better off today together, given the footprint and given what we’ve been able to accomplished digitally... This is all about a fresh start... no terrible, terrible things.'

In August, Mr. Wemple told DCist's Sommer Mathis:

'Like a lot of media companies, we are going through an exceptionally rough period, and indeed we are discussing how to cut expenses. I don't want to cite any figures at this point because we are trying our best as a company to minimize the impact. But yes, layoffs are part of the discussion.'

Observer » Washington City Paper’s Parent Company Files for Chapter 11; ‘This Is All About a Fresh Start’ Says C.E.O.

Washington City Paper’s Parent Company Files for Chapter 11; ‘This Is All About a Fresh Start’ Says C.E.O.