There is nothing really new in the basic assumption that everything revolves around money, especially for readers of a newspaper like "Globes". Nonetheless, earlier this week, the Jerusalem District Court made a decision that reaffirms this adage, which we sometimes really hope is not true about everything.
Trustee Chen Berdachev received six bids to buy the newspaper "Makor Rishon" from Shlomo Ben-Tzvi. Some of the bids were only for the national-religious newspaper, while others included nrg, the website of Hebrew daily "Ma'ariv", and a few also wanted that newspaper as well.
Five bids were realistic, to the extent that it is possible to be realistic in the battered Israeli media market. There is a reason why the company's lawyer, Shalom Goldblatt told "Globes" that the only financially logical deal in the media market was the one offering to pay the buyer to take the newspaper, not the other way round. There was just one bid - by Sheldon Adelson - that had no financial foundation at all. All the other bids did not exceed NIS 4 million; Adelson's freesheet "Israel Today" offered NIS 12.5 million for "Makor Rishon" and "nrg".
Berdachev, as is the wont of trustees, was not perturbed by this. He was prepared to close the deal on the spot. Only a signal from "The Jerusalem Post" publisher Eli Azur that he was prepared to counter the bid, resulted in another pricing round. Azur was prepared to pay NIS 13.5 million, but when Adelson's aides offered the inconceivable price of NIS 14 million, the pricing was ended and the recommendation was submitted to the court.
It seemed to the participants in the hearing that Jerusalem District Court Judge David Mintz was uncomfortable. Adelson was not just willing to pay the highest price, his promises to the employees went far beyond what his rivals were offering. The judge repeatedly asked if there were any objections, and when none were made, he accepted Berdachev's recommendation and made it subject to approval by the Antitrust Authority.
Learning nothing from Gaydamak and Lauder
True, when discussing a company operating under a stay of proceedings, a substantial capital injection is supposed to be a basic condition for saving it. However, when this involved a media company with a clear ideological bent, should only the money be weighed in the balance? Even if "Israel Today's" clear ideological position and Adelson's well-publicized political antagonisms did not raise questions in Judge Mintz's mind, the exorbitant financial offer should have screamed to the heavens. But Judge Mintz chose to ignore the cries, and in his courtroom, money overcame everything else: values, the agenda, and maybe also freedom of the press. Time will tell.
There is a dualism in the newspaper market, possibly even hypocrisy. On one hand, journalists fear Adelson and ridicule his newspaper; on the other hand, there is a deep desire for him to save them and their workplace. If not him, then someone else like him with infinite resources. It seems that Adelson is just getting started, and it cannot be ruled out that his fingerprints can be found on the transition to commercial television licenses.
And why not, ask the journalists fearful of their futures. After all, the media empire that Adelson is building in Israel is growing, and the salaries that he pays are not bad. Therefore, no to Adelson; and not because of the prime minister or his newspaper's line. No; it is because someone who appears to be the most stable, but does not operate on rational economic calculations, is the biggest threat of all. Someone who is driven by interests rather than profits has the greatest potential to disappear one day and leave everyone hanging in the air. Look at Arcadi Gaydamak and Ron Lauder.
The salvation of Israel's media market will never happen so long as it relies on billionaires' caprices. Only the search for profits, through the best content, will guarantee the media's survival, even if the price is liable to be heavy. As mentioned, it's all about money.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 1, 2014
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014