At least six groups are "believed to have submitted bids to buy The Boston Globe," including Red Sox Owner John Henry's Fenway Sports Group, according to sources cited by Beth Healy of the BOSTON GLOBE. Henry "made his bid along with his New England Sports Network co-owner, Delaware North Cos.," for which Bruins Owner Jeremy Jacobs serves as Chair & CEO. Sources said that Henry "mulled acquiring the Globe in recent years, after the Times Co. put it up for sale" in '09 and "threatened to shut down the newspaper." But Henry "did not submit a bid at that time." The Kraft group, founded by Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, previously "withdrew from the bidding." The dollar amounts of the bids "could not immediately be learned," but prior estimates "have ranged from" $70-120M (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/28). In Boston, Chris Cassidy cited media experts as saying that readers "could be crying foul" if Henry and Jacobs buy the Globe, "fearing the beleaguered broadsheet would shy away from hard-hitting coverage." The potential conflicts "could be difficult to deflect." A source said that editors, "feeling ownership pressures, may avoid running hard-hitting Red Sox coverage or breaking a controversial Bruins story, if they fear it would upset top brass -- especially in a struggling journalism job market." Media analyst Ken Doctor said that it "wouldn't be the first marriage between a newspaper and a professional sports team," as the Chicago Tribune owned the Cubs and Wrigley Field until '07. Doctor "didn't think the possible Globe-Red Sox conflict would hurt Henry's chances in the actual bidding process" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/29).
