‘Their own media megaphone’: what do the Koch brothers want from Time?

The company’s decline is readily apparent – but if the billionaire brothers’ other interests are a guide, their investment will be about more than moneyThat Charles and David Koch are putting $650m into Meredith Corp’s purchase of Time would ordinarily be cause for great soul-searching in media. But these are not ordinary times.Meredith’s Koch-backed deal with Time – which owns, in addition to Time magazine, titles including People, Fortune and Sports Illustrated – was sealed Sunday night. Meredith said in a statement announcing the deal that they are building “a premier media company serving nearly 200 million American consumers.”The Kochs are billionaire US brothers noted for their control of oil-and-gas giant Koch Industries, the second-largest privately owned US company – and for their anti-regulatory politics. Charles and David Koch (pronounced "coke") head up the $115bn company, and are well known for their quiet financial support of conservative causes, through such groups as Americans for Prosperity, a key player in the Tea Party movement. They share the No 8 spot in Forbes' list of the world's richest people. Related: How climate scepticism turned into something more dangerous Related: Dark Money review: Nazi oil, the Koch brothers and a rightwing revolution Related: Sinclair's vast media merger threatens democratic ideals. Congress must fight it Continue reading...