It’s no secret that Red Sox owner John Henry is one on the bidders lining up to buy the Boston Globe. Here’s how the Globe itself addressed Henry’s bid yesterday:
At least six groups submit bids to buy The Boston Globe
At least six groups are believed to have submitted bids to buy The Boston Globe, according to several people involved in or briefed on the offers.
The bidders, whose offers were due Thursday at 5 p.m., include several of the names previously reported to have been exploring bids, as well as Red Sox owner John Henry and his Fenway Sports Group . . .
Henry made his bid along with his New England Sports Network co-owner, Delaware North Cos. Delaware is owned by Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs.
The New York Times Co., which is selling the Globe, previously owned a stake in the Red Sox.
Leave it to the Boston Herald, however, to expose the dark underbelly of the potential deal.
John Henry’s Globe bid raises fears
Sports coverage could be affected
Sports-savvy readers could be crying foul if Red Sox owner John Henry’s bid to team up with the owner of the Bruins to buy the Globe wins out, fearing the beleaguered broadsheet would shy away from hard-hitting coverage, according to media experts.
“If he owns the paper, he can give good coverage to the team,” said Edward Atorino, a media analyst with The Benchmark Company. “I know what I would do if it were my paper. I’d certainly want a bias to the positive of covering my team — come on.”
A bias to the positive of covering my team? Smooth analysis.
Of course, it’s a perfectly reasonable concern that the Herald raises, given hard times in the news industry and Henry’s past prickliness. It’ll be fun to see how far the feisty local tabloid can stretch it.
Like taffy, we’re betting.
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Like anyone cares they already own the TV channels that carry the games?