Publisher Leads New Bid to Buy Wilkes-Barre Paper

By: E&P Staff In what a story in the newspaper calls a "surprise bid," Pat McHugh, publisher of the Times-Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., has put together a group of investors who are making a major play for the purchase of the newspaper.

The Times Leader was one of the 12 Knight Ridder papers secured by McClatchy and then put back on the market recently.

The offer was made ?to keep the paper operating and to retain the work force,? an inside source told the newspaper. McHugh would not confirm or deny the report.

Other possible bidders for the Times Leader include the presumptive favorite, Times-Shamrock Communications, owner of the nearby The Citizens? Voice; Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.; and Yucaipa, which is financing a union-backed effort.

Times-Shamrock's interest has raised antitrust issues.