Knight Ridder's Happy Ending?

If the Knight Ridder Inc. (KRI ) sale saga were to have a Hollywood ending, it would look like this: The McClatchy Co. (MNI ) and the New York Times Co. (NYT ) team up to outbid a consortium of private equity firms to buy the company's 32 dailies.

Consider the scenario. Tony Ridder, family scion running a battered company formed by the merger of two family-owned chains, safely steers his properties out of troubled waters and toward a partnership of two family-owned newspaper companies, both of which boast solid journalistic reputations. Ridder's black hat turns white. The Times Co. and McClatchy win industry kudos for blocking a private equity takeover. Sighs of relief from Knight Ridder staffers mean goodwill for contract talks.