Ronald Grover - FishbowlLA

It’s Official: Tribune Company Emerges from Bankruptcy

Richard Horgan — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 06:45:43 +0000

Reuters reporters Ronald Grover and Liana B. Baker had the scoop last Friday about New Year’s Eve being the day LA Times parent company Tribune Co. would finally, officially emerge from a four-year bankruptcy. This morning at 4:42 a.m. PT, LAT reporters Walter Hamilton and Joe Flint added circumspect confirmation in the paper’s own pages:

The company sought Bankruptcy Court protection in December 2008 after an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout by real estate magnate Sam Zell saddled the company with $12.9 billion in total debt just as advertising revenue was collapsing…

Despite the financial travails of the newspaper industry, Tribune remained profitable throughout the bankruptcy. It built cash reserves of more than $2.5 billion as of November 18, according to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing this month.

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Report: Rupert Murdoch Interested in the LA Times*

Richard Horgan — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 21:55:38 +0000

A day after KPBS relayed Doug Manchester’s possible interest in acquiring the LA Times, there is news of a much bigger media mogul sniffing around this city’s prized daily newspaper. According to LA Times reporter Meg James, her new boss could potentially turn out to be none other than Rupert Murdoch:

News Corp. executives have had preliminary talks with debt holders about acquiring the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, according to two ranking News Corp. executives and others familiar with the situation.

These people cautioned that talks are in the early stages, and that a deal is by no means certain… On trips to Los Angeles, Murdoch is known to mark up the newspaper with a Sharpie pen to illustrate how he would design pages.

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Reuters Lays Out Scientology’s Plans for KCET Headquarters

Richard Horgan — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 18:00:56 +0000

It didn’t take long for the Church of Scientology to try and put forth a brighter summer-of-2012 PR message. In place of Cruise and Holmes, they want you to start thinking about Sunset and Fountain.

From Ronald Grover and Lisa Baertlein’s Reuters report:

“The church plans to establish a central media hub for our growing world network of churches and to move into the production of religious television and radio broadcasting,” said Karin Pouw, a spokeswoman for Church of Scientology International, in an email. She said there is no timetable for when operations would begin.

It’s a smart move. Why gut KCET’s old broadcast facility, purchased last spring for $42 million, when the complex can be used most optimally for the same general purpose?

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Magic Johnson Gets ASPiRE Assist from Reuters

Richard Horgan — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:50:30 +0000

Reuters LA bureau chief Ronald Grover has a nice little interview item today with Magic Johnson, on the eve of Comcast’s June 27 launch of the burgeoning media mogul’s family-oriented cable channel ASPiRE.

Magic says his ultimate ambition is to achieve the same level of perceived business success as Robert Johnson, founder of BET and an owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats before Michael Jordan. He also reminds why he thinks the Dodgers were worth $2.15 billion:

Johnson, who owns commercial real estate in LA, says the real value of the deal is in the 300 acres that surround Dodger stadium, although there are no plans to develop the property yet… “We’re going to get the team where we think it should be before we think about the real estate.”

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Reuters Hires Ron Grover Away From Bloomberg Businessweek

Pandora Young — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:32:02 +0000

Multiple media outlets are reporting that media reporter Ronald Grover is leaving Bloomberg Businessweek to work as the Los Angeles bureau chief for Reuters. Grover has been with BusinessWeek since 1979, and began covering entertainment and media in 1986. From Talking Biz News, who broke the story:

While Reuters has been hiring a number of big-name business journalists in the past year, this move is an important hire in that Reuters now has a deal for much of its Hollywood business coverage with The Wrap. Grover’s hiring means that the news service would become more aggressive in covering that beat.

An official announcement is expected from Reuters on Monday, according to LA Observed.

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National Entertainment Journalism Award Finalists Announced

Matthew Fleischer — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:13:39 +0000

The Los Angeles Press Club announced the finalists for its 2011 National Entertainment Journalism Awards today. Lots of familiar names. Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva, Bloomberg News‘ Ronald Grover, Radar’s Dylan Howard, KABC-TV’s George Pennacchio, NBC-4′s Tara Wallis-Finestone and Stephen Leigh Morris of the LA Weekly are all finalists for journalist of the year honors.

The awards will be held November 17 at the Biltmore Hotel–where none other than Hugh Hefner will be there to receive a lifetime achievement award.

Full list of finalists after the jump.

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