By: E&P Staff The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation rushed Monday to assure journalism schools and other media programs that Knight Ridder's $4.5 billion sale to McClatchy will not affect its charitable giving.
"We'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the sale of Knight Ridder to McClatchy will have little bearing on the foundation's ongoing work," the foundation said in a statement. Knight Foundation President and CEO Alberto Ibarg?en, a former publisher for Knight Ridder's former flagship, The Miami Herald, was not available for comment, his office said Monday afternoon.
Knight Foundation is a big funder of journalism programs, and has given some 800 programs $260 million in its history. The Knight Ridder sale comes just as the Knight-funded national Sunshine Week got underway Sunday.
"Knight Foundation remains committed to serving journalism and the communities where the brothers (Jack and Jim Knight) owned newspapers, just as they intended when they created Knight Foundation," the foundation's statement said. "For the record, Knight Foundation owns 500,000 shares -- just 0.7 percent -- of the outstanding shares of Knight Ridder stock. The stock represents only 1.5 percent of Knight Foundation's diversified $2 billion-plus assets."
The foundation traces its roots back to the Knight Memorial Fund established by the brothers in 1940 to provide financial aid to college students from the Akron area, according to a history on its Web site. The fund was run by the Akron Beacon Journal until 1950, when its assets were transferred to the newly created Knight Foundation.
In its sales announcement, McClatchy said it was immediately putting up for sale the Beacon Journal and 11 other dailies.
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