Readers of the then Marianas Variety (Guam) are still at a quandary as to why their favorite daily paper was purchased by a business group that has no media industry background.
Marianas Variety Guam Edition (now the Guam Daily Post) that traced its roots from Saipan has been among the local favorites with the lively yellow sunrise in the masthead. Somehow, readers say, the sunrise gives them a ray of hope for the day.
Then they were surprised when one day, the yellow sunrise was replaced by a black and red paper, a complete turnaround, they say.
And while the staff of MV Guam are still the ones churning out the now Guam Daily Post, there was a big change on the background. The owner(s).
The Guam Daily Post is now owned by Guam LLC, which is owned by Ho S. Eun of Core Tech International Corp, one of the construction firms in the island that has quite a number of contracts with GovGuam.
Insiders say that the then MV Guam was not really earning. So in part, they say that with Core Tech in the picture, it gave them a sense of stability.
But chritical readers are still wondering, why acquire a paper that is not really earning, and still retain the people running it? The critic’s comments stemmed from their observations that when a business that is not doing so good is taken over by another group, there usually is a revamp and new guys are put in to make improvements.
So now they ask, what’s behind the purchase? Does it have something to do with the upcoming election fever? Is it just meant to silence and neutralize the press? Does the administration has something to do with acquisition?
Will all the questions, this paper attempted to get the side of the Guam Daily Post, by writing Mr. Ho S. Eun (letter on the right). Unfortunately, Mr. Eun chose to ignore the letter.
To date, Core Tech’s website shows four current school construction projects.
The administration recently purchased the Tiyan High School property from Guam Facilities Foundation, Inc. that “bought” the rights to the Tiyan property from Core Tech through series transactions. It is notable though that like Guam LLC that bought MV Guam, the officers of Guam Facilities Foundation, Inc. are also affiliated with Core Tech. Same dog with a different collar.
The Tiyan property purchase is being questioned by the Public Auditor as the administration changed the 2013 purchase agreement without her knowledge, and just learned about it after the deal was signed last year. The original agreement was to purchase the property using tax credits, but now GovGuam will pay $10 million (cash) a year over 25 years./Junction Guam News Team
