Copyright © 1997 by the Boston Phoenix, Inc. All rights reserved.

This Just In: Media

A front-runner emerges in the Ledger sweepstakes

By Dan Kennedy

A clear front-runner has emerged in the Quincy Patriot Ledger sweepstakes. James Plugh, a veteran newspaper executive who heads a group that purchased the Brockton Enterprise last year, now appears likely to add the Ledger to his fledgling chain, perhaps as early as next month.

Nothing's official yet, but in a brief interview Plugh sounded relaxed and confident. "I've had a good feeling right along, but it comes more from the sense that the Patriot Ledger is a fantastic newspaper, and we're a natural," he says.

The Ledger, the second-largest independent daily in Massachusetts, went up for sale in May. Publisher K. Prescott "Scott" Low, whose family has owned the Ledger for 160 years, said his paper needed a deep-pockets owner who could invest in color presses and online technology ("Another One Bites the Dust," News, June 6).

Meanwhile, the Phoenix has learned that Pat Purcell, owner of the state's largest independent daily, the Boston Herald, has been eliminated despite making a hard run at the Ledger. Sources say Purcell and Herald editor Andy Costello, who began his newspaper career at the Ledger in the 1970s, have been telling employees for about a week that Purcell was no longer a contender. Purcell could not be reached for comment, but sources say the estimated $75 million-to-$80 million price tag was simply too high. Previously, Purcell had fallen short in attempts to buy the Enterprise and the Lowell Sun.

Two other bidders remain in contention for the Ledger: Fidelity's Community Newspaper Company, which owns 117 papers in Greater Boston, and MediaNews Group, a Denver-based chain whose New England holdings include the Sun and the Berkshire Eagle.

Enterprise publisher Plugh, who was an executive with the former Ingersoll newspaper chain, co-heads the Newspaper Media Corporation, based in New York City. Though the Enterprise is the company's first venture, Plugh says, "We've made no bones that we'd like to be a good-size newspaper group."

The South Shore territories served by the Enterprise and the Ledger overlap, but Plugh "absolutely" denies speculation that he might close the Enterprise, the smaller of the two papers, if he purchases the Ledger.