Good for them! So far, $75,000 in pledges have been made:

Want to buy the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and six other daily newspapers? No, I don’t mean at the newsstand.
The Other 98%, a nonprofit organization, has setup a crowdfunding campaign to buy Tribune Co.’s newspaper business. The initiative is meant to prevent the Koch brothers, Rupert Murdoch or some other billionaire from buying it.

The campaign is looking to raise $660 million in the next 31 days so it can outbid the Kochs – the high-powered, libertarian brothers known for hosting $50,000-a-plate fundraising events for Republican candidates, according to the pitch on Indiegogo, a crowdfunding site. The group promoting the campaign was founded in 2010 with the mission “to kick corporate lobbyists out of DC,” according to its website.

In the case of the stop-the-Kochs campaign, the group doesn’t want “press freedom to be subject to the benevolence or non-benevolence of a billionaire,” according to Nicole Carty, one of the organization’s activists. “The press belongs to the people,” she said.

The newspapers were valued at $623 million last year, according to bankruptcy filings, making crowdfunding target of $660 million a competitive bid.

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Sunday night the Cincinnati area had a pleasant surprise. It was the pilot for a new political talk show featuring Jerry Springer and Bill Cunningham, entitled “Jerry and Bill”. It was a little rough around the edges, but that is to be expected from a pilot, especially one coming from a local market. The Tribune Co. is behind this new show and is hoping to make it like ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption.

During their debut, Jerry and Bill covered a wide range of subjects and Bill didn’t disappoint. While discussing healthcare, Bill proudly exclaimed that there are “no dirty poor people in America”. This lead into a lively debate, needless to say. It was only one of many throughout the show, so if you would like to catch it then you can this coming Sunday on WGN at 1PM eastern.