The Words of the Joo Family
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The Words of the Joo Family |
The owner of the Washington Times entered into an agreement Tuesday to sell the paper to another entity affiliated with its parent, the Unification Church, which would return funding to the cash-strapped conservative publication, POLITICO has learned.
The agreement was made Tuesday afternoon between News World Communications, the paper's parent company, chaired by Preston Moon, and News World Media Development, a Delaware-registered LLC tied to other factions of the Unification Church, according to sources close to the negotiations. It sets forth a 30-day period for both sides to conduct due diligence, after which the paper will be sold, if both sides still want to go forward.
"This is a very significant hurdle that has been cleared," said Sam Dealey, the Washington Times executive editor.
The move follows days of rumors that the paper was on the verge of shutting down. On Monday, local website DCRTV reported that Washington Times officials were ready to send out a press release announcing the closure as recently as Friday, when a last-minute, revised offer to buy the paper was submitted.
Several sources told POLITICO that last week's activities represented only an incremental increase over the typical tension at the paper, which has been teetering ever since the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's family cut off most of the annual subsidy that kept the paper going. Moon, Preston's father and the founder of the Unification Church, founded The Washington Times in 1982.
A leaked memo from the Unification Church treasurer says the subsidy that supported the Washington Times stopped "abruptly and completely" in July of 2009. Since 2002, the paper has shrunk from 225 to around 70 people, cut its sports and metro sections, and reduced its circulation. The paper stopped reporting its circulation to the Audit Bureau of Circulation in 2008, and earlier this month, was moved back a row in the White House briefing room.
As news of the possible sale spread through the newsroom Tuesday, it was greeted by a cautious optimism.
"Everyone's optimistic," said one person with knowledge of the negotiations. "But the real question is, is the Reverend going to sink a bunch of money into it and run it as a subsidized operation, or are they going to stick to their plan of trying to make money off it, which means they are going to shut it down at some point?"
The paper has been publicly for sale since May, when the Washington Post reported that the paper's board was in discussions with several potential buyers. The suitors included a group of investors organized by John Solomon, the former Washington Post reporter who resigned as the Washington Times' executive editor in November. Sources say Solomon is not involved in the current round of negotiations. Solomon declined to comment.
They money troubles stem in part from a dispute over who will succeed the 90-year-old Rev. Moon in the church's myriad holdings.
Last autumn, the Rev. Moon transferred control of day-to-day operations among some of his sons, including Preston, the eldest, who received the Washington Times, and Sean, the youngest, who was put in charge of the religious mission. The succession plan sparked a feud between Preston and what several sources said was much of the rest of the family.
In November, three longtime executives at the paper -- Washington Times publisher Thomas McDevitt, chief financial officer Keith Cooperrider, and chairman Doug Moon Joo -- were fired, TPM reported.
Sources said some of these executives may be involved in the new buyers' group. None could be reached for comment.