Russian gazette

Pressure is strong for Handelsblatt to reject the bid by Mladá fronta publishing house for control of Economia. The FAZ hit esp. hard at the idea of handing Economia over to an obscure group of Russians. On paper, Sanoma is probably the best choice for assuring journalistic independence, but rumor is that PPF will be the highest bidder if the Russians are sent packing. PPF presents its own problems. This would put three of the leading business titles (HN, Ekonom and Euro) under the same roof, although Euro's print version might realistically be folded under. There's also the issue of why PPF would be willing to pay more than the fair market value, unless it wants to use HN to benefit its own business interests the way it has used Euro (see LN). These concerns could be at least partially allayed if PPF vowed to create an independent editorial board for its burgeoning media empire. [Czech Republic Hospodářské noviny Lidové noviny Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]