Hi David, McClatchy acquired Knight-Ridder at the height of an historic home price bubble. That buy pumped up the company’s debt load, growing heavier as the slowdown deepens. The bubble could not and did not last. Before it burst the only question was when that would happen. Like you, I read The Bee daily. I do not recall much if any critical reporting on the housing bubble before it collapsed. I am no mind reader. I know what people do and say. But I do wonder how The Bee’s coverage of this bubble relates to the McClatchy acquisition. If you get a chance, check out Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy by economist Dean Baker (Polipoint Press, January 1, 2009). He recognized the home bubble after former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s congressional testimony in 2002. Regards, Seth Sandronsky