When news broke that Rupert Murdoch had purchased The Brooklyn Paper, the paper's editor Gersh Kuntzman hailed the media mogul (Rupe had likely saved the award-winning paper after all, despite protestations to the contrary.) Two years ago Murdoch had purchased the Courier-Life chain, which publishes 12 different local neighborhood papers in Brooklyn. The Observer helpfully pointed out that at that time the Kuntzman looked none to kindly on the owner of the Post moving into his turf and said to Gothamist:
The Brooklyn Paper, which just won 'Newspaper of the Year' from a major national trade group, is certainly not going out of business. Brooklyn needs us too much right now, what with local papers being snapped up by billionaire moguls who have no interest in local news except maximizing classified ad sales. Has Rupert Murdoch even been to Brooklyn? His reporters don't know the territory, either.
Kuntzman did not take the Observer rubbing an old quote in his face lying down, however, and immediatly fired back this missive in The Observer's comments section:
Wow, hoisted on my own two-year-old petard! But certainly the essential truth of the old quote from Gothamist remains true: Brooklyn still needs The Brooklyn Paper, which is why one of the only people in the world who still believes in newspapers — Rupert Murdoch — is putting his money and genius behind us.
I think that's a fuller quote than tearing one off of Gothamist from two years ago. Also, we've won more awards since then, too!
GERSH KUNTZMAN
Editor
The Brooklyn Paper
