Interesting tidbit on my entry yesterday, spurred by the Market Watch piece with a rather anti-MBO spin. The industry expert Market Watch quoted, Nell Minow, is apparently also a Going Private reader, as today Minow wrote me to point out that Market Watch had been somewhat "selective" about the way in which the comments had been used. Color me unsurprised. Says Minow:
Marketwatch was very selective with my quote -- in the interview I actually said many of the same things you did in your comment, including the point that anyone who buys into it knows what he is getting and that the price reflects the control discount. And I noted that no world-class American newspaper has ever had anything but dual class stock. When the Chicago Tribune and LA Times switched from dual class, they suffered immediately. Just wanted to let you know I think you're right. While I might not buy into a dual class company, I am delighted that our capital markets permit variety to address the needs of all providers and users of capital.
Despite the constantly strong showings of certain people in the field (Vipal Monga and John Morris over at TheDeal.com, among others, come to mind) I am strongly tempted at this point to introduce a category for inept or agenda laden reporting by financial "journalists," that is, if a clever idea for a category title comes to me.
(Art Credit: Hidden Agenda, Paul Martinez-Frias)
