Newspapers are a public good, educators of the citizenry, and critical to democratic governance. They shed light on the expenditure of public money, provide insight into how tax revenues are spent and enable citizens to make informed electoral choices. In fact, cities without newspapers experience lower voter turnout and increased partisanship. They experience increased political corruption, increased government costs, higher taxes and bond rates due to a lack of scrutiny through investigative reporting.

With 30 daily newspapers and an average combined workday circulation of 1.1 million and Sunday circulation of 1.7 million, McClatchy is the second largest newspaper company in the United States. Despite its crucial role in our democratic society, it has reduced its workforce in excess of 80% since its 2006 merger with Knight Ridder.

Two months after McClatchy filed for Chapter 11 protection, Chatham Asset Management and Brigade Capital Management petitioned the court for Chatham to assume 100% of the equity in the reorganized company. Chatham Asset Management is a hedge fund with $4.3 billion of assets under management. Included in its portfolio is American Media Inc. Its subsidiary, the National Enquirer, has had a questionable relationship to fact-based journalism, becoming infamous for its “catch and kill” payoffs to accommodate the political friends of American Media, Inc., and for attempting to extort Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos.

Further, Chatham Asset Management has a history of cost-cutting and employment reductions above the industry average, as witnessed by the cuts in its chain of Canadian newspapers, Postmedia Network. Employees of McClatchy newspapers aspire to protect their newspaper from that fate while protecting their own wages, benefits, and job security.

Therefore, we the undersigned McClatchy employees urge you, Judge Wiles, to deny future ownership claims to Chatham Asset Management and instead entertain offers from investors interested in fact-based journalism. Alternatively, in the event Chatham Asset Management must be granted a majority ownership stake, we urge you to impose the following conditions to protect journalism at our newspapers:

a. The reorganized McClatchy Company will not close any news property or enact any layoffs in the next two years, and
b. The reorganized McClatchy Company will remain neutral in the event workers seek collective representation at unorganized news sites. It will bargain in good faith with represented employees, and
c. The reorganized McClatchy Company will make individual papers available for sale at a reasonable multiple of earnings.