Boston Shoot-out   

The Boston Herald, the scrappy, underdog competitor of the Boston Globe, added some muscle to its fight in September by purchasing a chain of suburban papers to compete head-on with the Globe for readers beyond city limits.

Boston's legendary newspaper rivalry is about to jump from cross-town to cross-region.

The Boston Herald, the scrappy, underdog competitor of the Boston Globe, added some muscle to its fight in September by purchasing a chain of suburban papers to compete head-on with the Globe for readers beyond city limits.

"Let the battle be joined," Herald Publisher Patrick J. Purcell said as he announced the deal to buy Community Newspaper Company's stable of 100-plus papers, all in eastern Massachusetts, from Fidelity Capital.

The purchase, reportedly for $100 to $150 million, will add 87 weeklies, four dailies, 14 free shoppers, eight specialty publications and an online operation to Purcell's holdings. The sale is expected to close November 1. The Herald, which has a stronger circulation in the city, now has a chance to compete for coveted suburban readers. And CNC's weekly circulation of close to 600,000 can potentially provide an outlet for advertisers to reach prized markets on the outskirts.

"It's a great move for the Herald, but it's by no means a sure bet," says Dan Kennedy, media critic for the weekly Boston Phoenix.

Purcell refused to comment, saying in an e-mail that he and his associates were "working around the clock to finalize the deal." Eileen Newman, director of communications for Fidelity Capital, says, "The papers weren't for sale, but Pat came to us with an offer that was very compelling." She adds: "It ensures that Boston will continue to be a two-newspaper town."

The Globe, owned by the New York Times Co., has already built up a strong suburban presence with weekly Sunday supplements in six zones. In September, it began offering one of those, Globe West, which has four editions, also on Thursdays. The paper may consider doing the same with its other weekly supplements, beginning next year.

Kennedy and others say Purcell would likely need to institute changes to the CNC chain to make it a success. The papers, with about 1,200 employees, had lost money until the past few years.

To aid finances, management cut staff and consolidated five of its more than two dozen bureaus, angering readers who claimed the newspapers had abandoned their towns. The chain has since added one bureau.

Purcell hasn't yet talked about his plans for the chain, saying he needs to study the situation. Media critics credit Purcell for giving the tabloid-style Herald just the right amount of edge for Boston readers. He's also active in the business community, working diligently to make himself and the Herald a respected force. "Purcell instantly understood what would fly here and what wouldn't," Kennedy says.

The Globe, with a daily circulation of 477,074, is taking the threat seriously. In a memo to staff, Globe Publisher Richard Gilman said he was organizing a "strike team" to counteract the competition and warned that the purchase could threaten the Globe's supremacy, according to a story published in the Herald.

The Herald itself has a daily circulation of 265,695, but by adding the daily CNC papers, Herald Media, Inc. will have a combined daily circulation of more than 300,000. According to a 1999-2000 Gallup poll of media usage in the Boston market, 63 percent of Herald and CNC newspaper readers also read the Globe.

Although Herald reporter and newsroom union steward Tom Mashberg says he has some concerns about the joining of the nonunion CNC with the unionized Herald, he says most reporters are enthusiastic about the deal. "It makes the Herald seem less like an urban paper and more of a corporation that has a broader appeal to a broader set of readers."

Intense competition has always been part of life in the Boston media market, says Globe spokesman Richard Gulla. "It's certainly made us more attentive," he says of the deal. "We'll meet whatever challenge comes our way."