Koch Bros Cannot Buy Tribune Newspapers

A strong democracy depends on information and knowledge. The more sources of information we have, the greater our knowledge. The greater our knowledge, the more intelligently we can select our representatives in government at all levels, and the better we can hold them accountable.

There are millions of us using the objective information we read in Tribune newspapers to inform ourselves and take action if necessary to rein in powerful interests when they try to take more than their fair share of power. What will be left to us if the newspapers are turned into PR arms for two of the most influential power players in the country? How will citizens hold our government accountable if we hear only spin and misinformation?

We have seen up close what the Koch brothers do. They use their wealth to wield influence with elected officials on their pet issues, including attacking campaign finance limits, promoting discriminatory voter ID laws and increasing income inequality. They cannot be trusted as stewards of a free and independent press. And yet, they are rumored to be near the top of the list of bidders for nine Tribune Company newspapers.

We already know what happens to news coverage when the ideology of an owner is placed over informing the public. This sale would create another Rupert Murdoch, and make papers like the LA Times and Chicago Tribune look more like Fox News and the New York Post.

Now is the time to put a stop to the Koch brothers’ attempt to buy the news in America. Along with SEIU, the Colorado Progressive Coalition and the Denver Area Labor Federation, Colorado Common Cause delivered this letter and over 500,000 signatures to a local TV station owned by the Tribune Company, discouraging them from selling to the Kochs.

Billionaires like the Koch brothers can’t just buy the news. America’s news should serve the public interest”‘not the corporate interests of billionaires like the Kochs.