Packer jumps ship while he still can

by cameron | Jun 1, 2007 | Australian media, Iraq

James Packer is selling down another 25% of PBL, taking his ownership to a minority share. I predicted this last October when Packer first announced he was selling off PBL.

As I pointed out back then, you probably won’t hear the mainstream media talking about the real reason Packer is selling down. They will focus on the his interest in gambling. Sure sure. Gambling is swell. But Packer doesn’t need to sell off PBL to get into gambling. He is James Packer. This isn’t like your university drop-out brother selling his PS2 so he can upgrade. The real reason (IMHO) that Packer is selling off PBL is that he wants to get out while he still can! He knows what we know, what Buffett and Gates and Murdoch know. The old media business is dead in the water. It’s a floater, just waiting for CSI to come along and fish it out with a long gaff so someone can autopsy the corpse.

Murdoch is the only guy who is still buying old media assets (apart from the vulture PE firms who can’t wait to pick the flesh off the bones… oh and Sam Zell). That’s because Rupert thinks he can just buy EVERYTHING. This is his last great gasp before he shuffles off to the Great Satellite Network in the Sky. He’s like Kane, buying all of the antiques of Europe, and then stuffing them into a warehouse somewhere in New Jersey, where a few years from now, a handful of guys will be sorting through them, chucking them into a great oven. I wonder if Rupert’s last dying words will be “Advertiserrrrr….”??

So anyway… I guarantee you won’t see a single mainstream media article in this country talk about the real reason why Packer is getting the hell out of dodge. Why? Because no-one wants to admit that their industry is on its last legs. The only old media guys I’ve met who are able to admit that are the ones that have resigned and walked away before the crash. Like Hugh Martin. I’m pretty sure Mark Jones would, but he’s still apparently counting on them for a pay cheque until he’s earning his keep from Yahweh.

And you won’t see Today Tonight, the kids that LOVE to throw the book at drunk drivers, talking about how their boss, Peter Meakin, has been sentenced to 18 month jail (on weekends) for trying to dodge a booze bus while he pissed behind the wheel. Nice one Pete. Nice to see his former colleagues at Nine News dancing on his grave as well. Classy, fellas.

And I doubt you’ll see any of them talking about the privatization of Iraq oil that I mentioned this morning.

Prove me wrong.