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Strategies & Market Trends : Buffettology -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bob Rudd who wrote (2138)	2/16/2000 7:49:00 AM
From: cfimx	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4691

Bob, you just nicely presented the "bearish" case on the newspaper business. Fortune magazine covered much of this about a month ago, focusing on the LA Times. You may wish to search their site. I can't respond specifically to each of your points. Because I don't think we know what will happen yet. Wasn't it THIS YEAR that papers were supposed to be HISTORY (per Andy Grove). But his IA64 was supposed to be out in 1998 too. <g> In the "Age of Information," I wouldn't mind at all owning the "content" that wpo can pump all over the Internet. They are doing great things with their sites. I don't think you easily duplicate the content of the Washington Post or Newsweek easily on the Internet. Kaplan is growing like a weed, and Paul Allen would buy the cable property TODAY for $3 Billion (from his recent purchases). They also own some great local TV stations which AREN"T going away anythime soon. With regards to insider selling, I would get worried if Berkshire sold, or the Graham family sold. David Graham stated (where have I heard this?) that he felt comfortable having over 90% of his net worth in the Post stock. The President accepted an option @ $777. He could have went to a startup and accepted penny stock (he is Internet savvy). Finally, with WELL over $1 Billion of Internet assets under the hood, ( at TODAY's comparables ) the $5 Billion market cap of this company is THE joke of the new Millineum, especially in the context of joke companies like Red Hat. And the folks who matter @ WPO KNOW it. That's why they tendered for over 5% of the stock at $575. Yes, you make some great arguments about the future of the business. But that's also why I'm able to buy ECP and LEE, my two small cap favorites, for about ten times cash earnings, and WPO, for a veritable song. Maybe it will turn out to be the WRONG move. But at least I'll have company. Each of these company's are aggresive buyers of their own stocks.