A group of journalists is urging the court to convene a new creditors’ meeting in response to an assessment that suggests the possibility remains for the insolvency plan to be approved, provided a particular clause deemed illegal by the court is removed.
If this is not feasible, they request that the magazine Visão be allowed to continue operations under the insolvency administrator’s oversight, based on a new plan submitted for evaluation, with any additional conditions agreed upon in the creditors’ meeting.
The petitioners warn that upholding the rejection of the recovery plan would lead to the closure of several historic media outlets in the country, such as the Visão magazine and Jornal de Letras, resulting in job losses and the cessation of publications belonging to the insolvent entity. This could jeopardize any future projects involving these titles.
They caution that even if these titles are acquired by someone else and potentially used years later, their historical legacy will not survive. Some titles, however, retain sustainable projects and have sufficient revenue to succeed with a restructured cost framework.
Selling the titles for the best possible financial return is of paramount interest to the creditors. It is significantly different to sell newspaper titles that are off the shelves compared to selling them while they still maintain their activity, presence, and reputation.
Currently, Visão’s business projections show revenues of approximately 170,000 euros, with costs around 223,000 euros, but these costs could quickly be reduced to achieve profitability, according to a plan submitted for the insolvency administrator’s review.
They highlight that there are journalists interested in supporting this project to keep Visão on the market, asserting its reputation and credibility.
The continuation of this publication’s activities, along with others from TiN, serves the creditors’ interests, aligning with positions taken by the major creditors of the insolvent company and respecting what Visão and other titles historically represent in Portuguese media.
On July 18, the court decided not to approve the recovery plan for the owner of Visão and other titles, ordering asset seizure and liquidation, as well as ceasing operations.
Trust in News announced on Friday the collective dismissal of the group’s 80 employees, complying with the court’s decision.
TiN’s sole shareholder, Luís Delgado, expressed intentions to appeal the decision against the approval. “If possible, we will appeal the decision not to approve the insolvency plan, which was approved by 77% of the creditors,” said the executive on July 18.
Established in 2017, Trust in News owns 16 media outlets across print and digital platforms, including Exame, Caras, Courrier Internacional, Jornal de Letras, Activa, Telenovelas, TV Mais, among others.
