Thread to summarize main points of this article:

1. Torstar is one of the seven media companies in English Canada big enough and trusted enough to decide which issues get attention and who gives commentary on those, every single day. 1/10 https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/why-a-progressive-buyer-should-go-for-torstar @briarpatchmag

The other big six are:
Postmedia (the biggest newspaper chain in the country)
Globe & Mail
CBC (public broadcaster)
Bell (CTV & iHeart)
Corus/Shaw (Global)
Rogers (CityTV, OMNI, radio stations) 2/10

Compared to even the most successful independent outlets, like @TheTyee, Torstar is massive. The Tyee has around $1 million in annual revenue. Torstar had $479 million in revenue last year, down substantially from the year before. Torstar operates on a different level. 3/10

2. The Nordstar deal is troubling. The businessmen behind it, Rivett and Bitove, who've both donated to Conservatives, don't have a history (as far as I can tell) of commitment to progressive media. The say they won't pull Torstar right, but all we have is their word. 4/10

3. Torstar often strays from its progressive mandate. Think of the op-eds against Indigenous rights, or then-publisher John Honderich chastising then-columnist Desmond Cole for writing about race and racism in Canada. And leadership is still v white. But it can be different. 5/10

Torstar could publish one or more unabashedly progressive papers championing workers, Indigenous rights, environmental issues, and more. Instead of all major media playing nice with colonialism and capitalism, Torstar could be the paper confronting those forces. 6/10

Torstar could do be more representative of the communities it is part of. There are ways to make sure that Black and Indigenous people are in leadership positions at the board level, in management, and in senior editorial. Power can be better distributed. 7/10

4. Financially, Torstar has majors strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:
- No debt
- $69.5 million in unrestricted cash as of March 31
- Subscription revenue for daily papers grew slightly last year to $119 million
- Some intangible non-core assets can be sold (~$100M) 8/10

Weaknesses:
- Has lost tens of millions in ad revenue each year, this will prob continue
- Not much tangible asset left (~$22M)
- Around $42M in pension liability 9/10

To conclude: This is a v rare opportunity. One of the media majors is being sold, and it happens to be the only one with an explicitly progressive mandate. At $60M for a decent bid, it's a good price. To get conversations changing in this country, this is a good investment. /end