More Media Carnage

Bill Stovin might not be the only one freaking out about the Leader-Post's campaign for Izzy Asper's canonization. But there’s a darn good reason why. The past – for Canwest and the Asper publishing/communications empire – is all they have left. Their share prices are falling like a rock, they have millions of dollars in bonds coming due in 2010, and the advertising market is as soft as a baby’s bottom.
Like what’s happening with the Chicago Tribune, Canwest is financially screwed. Newspapers -- the ones run by smart people, anyway -- can and will survive the internet, just as they survived television and radio. But they won’t survive their own business stupidity. When you leverage the hell out of your assets, lay off staff, cut yourself off from the community and then wonder why you’re losing readers, subscribers and market share, well, then you may be too stupid to live.
Oh yeah, when Izzy was alive, Canwest traded at over $12 a share. It’s now down to about 55 cents (as of Dec. 5), removing the Asper children from the list of the richest 100 Canadians. If I’m David Asper, worrying about how crummy CanadaInns (nee Winnipeg) Stadium is should be the least of my concerns… then again, it’s that attention to detail that explains why Canwest got into their financial pickle.
And paying the guy who presided over the stock decline more than $900K a year doesn't seem like a smart move, or understandable, outside Canwest's mindset.

(hat tip to Ottawa Watch)