MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bs As. Herald purchased by Argentine group

The Buenos Aires Herald was sold to an Argentine publishing corporation which acquired 97% of the shares announced the newspaper to its readers over the weekend. The new owners print the financial newspaper Buenos Aires Económico and the magazines Veintitrés, Siete Días and the Spanish version of the US Newsweek.

The information in English and Spanish, "To our readers" points out that the operation will not mean modifications to the current editorial policy and confirmed current editor Michael Soltys in his post. The report also points out that the incoming group belonging to businessman Sergio Spolski and his associates have no plans to fire personnel or proceed with a legal mechanism which under Argentine labor legislation allows companies with financial difficulties to apply drastic measures including half redundancy payments. Last week the editor Andrew Graham Yooll linked to The Buenos Aires Heraldfor over forty years unexpectedly resigned. "I'm leaving exhausted and with the feeling of an enormous failure", is quoted Graham Yooll in the Argentine press. There are conflicting versions about what really was going on in the newspaper, founded in 1876, before the December 16 sale announcement. Apparently a letter had been presented to the Argentine Labor Ministry by the outgoing authorities with the purpose of triggering extreme measures. The letter allegedly argues that The Buenos Aires Heraldhad become non viable particularly since the Falklands/Malvinas war given the "virtual extinction of the English community" in Argentina and the concession to the newspaper staff of a 15% salary recovery in 2006, following a ten year freeze.