In a statement released Friday, Blatstein said his group remained "perplexed as to why the out-of-town hedge funds which own the assets of PMN seem uninterested in hearing our ideas." In an interview, Blatstein said his group remained excluded from the sale process.
In the statement, Blatstein outlined an "intended plan of action" should PMN's ownership group decline to enter into discussions with Philly Hometown Media. Those plans could include a daily newspaper as well as some type of digital newspaper, he said.
A spokesman for PMN said the company had no comment on the Blatstein group's statement.
John Morton, a newspaper-industry analyst, said launching a digital and print paper in an urban area like Philadelphia would be a "very daunting thing."
Newspapers are expensive to operate. Morton said covering a region like Philadelphia's would require at least 25 reporters and from 10 to 15 editors. Assume $60,000 to $80,000 salaries for each, and "you're talking fairly big money," he said. "Week after week."
Philly Hometown Media says it has plenty of money.
"Our preliminary modeling indicates that this venture would be successful," the statement says. "Prior attempts at competition have been frustrated by a lack of committed long-term capital. Philly Hometown Media suffers from no such disability."
Besides Blatstein, the group's investors include beverage-industry giant Harold Honickman; Gerard H. Sweeney, president and chief executive officer of Brandywine Realty Trust; William A. Harvey, managing partner of Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg L.L.P.; and the class-action securities lawyer Andrew L. Barroway.
