Freedom bankruptcy filing Q&A

Freedom Communication Inc., the Irvine, Calif.-based owner of The Gazette and other newspapers and television stations across the nation, filed for U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law. The filing came Tuesday in Delaware. Gazette Publisher and President Steven Pope and Freedom CEO Burl Osborne answered the following questions about the filing:

Question: How will The Gazette be affected by the Chapter 11 filing?

Pope: We will operate the business as usual. I see this as the best news for The Gazette in a long time because it takes a significant burden of debt off Freedom and allows the company some breathing space. It will allow Freedom to emerge from the process as a healthy and prosperous business.

Q: Will The Gazette continue to publish?

Pope: We will continue to publish all of our publications and operate all of our Web sites.

Q: Will The Gazette honor my subscription or advertising contract?

Pope: All subscriptions and advertising contracts will be honored.

Q: Will new owners take over The Gazette and Freedom Communications?

Osborne: The new ownership structure will be that the creditor group (26 lenders) will own 98 percent of the company and the existing shareholders will have the other 2 percent with the right through warrants to buy up to 10 percent of the company should certain conditions be met.

Q: Will The Gazette’s libertarian editorial philosophy change?

Osborne: Nothing in the agreement with our lenders affects the editorial positions that we believe are appropriates for the communities we serve. I assume the new owners will not act against their self interest by interfering in the way we interact with the communities where we operate.

Q: Will The Gazette still run the Empty Stocking Fund and make other donations through Gazette Charities?

Pope: As far as I understand, we will continue to operate the Empty Stocking Fund and Gazette Charities the way we have in the past.