Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East
    • 2023 ESG Investing
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Print
March 08, 2004 12:00 AM

What Kmart insinuation?

Nancy K. Webman
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    After 32 years as a newspaper journalist, you'd think nothing would surprise me. You'd think I'd have seen it all.

    Think again.

    I am amazed by all that has transpired over a story about Kmart Holding Corp. and its real estate that we published in the Feb. 23 issue of Pensions & Investments.

    The story said — and I thought it said so simply and clearly — that if Kmart were to fail as a retailer, one of its investors had a possible contingency plan: Convert the company into a real estate investment trust.

    This wasn't a major story for us. We ran it on Page 6, not on Page 1. And it was only about 10 column inches long, whereas our most significant stories usually are two or three times longer.

    So, was I ever surprised by the firestorm that followed publication of that story. Indeed, dealing with the aftermath of running this story has been one my most bizarre experiences as a journalist. (First on the list, by the way, would be the hundreds of calls I received from readers after I wrote a daily newspaper story in the 1970s on how to crochet hats from beer cans.)

    In the days following publication of the Kmart story, we have been under siege by a public relations offensive launched by the investment firm with the REIT idea — Third Avenue Management LLC.

    According to Third Avenue's PR, we "insinuate(d) the opposite" of what Michael Winer, portfolio manager of Third Avenue's real estate fund, was saying about Kmart. Mr. Winer expects Kmart to succeed as a retailer, the PR force said, and we should have said that.

    Well, here's the deal: We never insinuated anything about Kmart's viability as a retailer.

    Bluntly put, we don't care whether Kmart succeeds or fails. And we don't care whether Mr. Winer and Third Avenue expect Kmart to succeed or fail.

    We cover real estate, not retailing. We only care about Mr. Winer's ideas for institutionalizing Kmart's portfolio of retail properties.

    As a result, we didn't put anything into the story about Kmart's chances for success — or failure — in retail.

    Third Avenue's outside PR person asked repeatedly if we planned to run a correction. We promised to clear up a factual error in the story: We said Third Avenue's real estate product was a commingled fund; it actually is a mutual fund. You will find that correction on page 4 of this issue.

    Despite that, Third Avenue issued a press release on Feb. 24 in which it said we "mischaracterized comments made by" Mr. Winer. The press release also said: "Pensions & Investments is expected to include a correction in the March 9, 2004, issue."

    As I said, we are running a correction, but only regarding the type of fund. The release from Third Avenue insinuates (I'm so glad they used that word first) that we erred in writing about Mr. Winer's opinion of Kmart's viability as a retailer. Again, we never said anything about Kmart's chances for success or failure.

    And, by the way, we don't publish on March 9, which is a Tuesday. For 31 years, P&I has been published on Mondays. It will continue to do so indefinitely.

    Corrections are vital to this newspaper and our relationship with our readers. Corrections force us to accept responsibility for our mistakes. When we goof, we come clean.

    Too bad there's no similar vehicle for Third Avenue to correct its press release.

    Recommended for You
    Read the print edition of P&I
    Read the print edition of P&I
    Gender diversity is improving on FTSE 350 boards
    Gender diversity is improving on FTSE 350 boards
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    The Institutional Investor's Guide to ESG Investing
    Sponsored Content: The Institutional Investor's Guide to ESG Investing

    Reader Poll

    January 25, 2023
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Show Me the Income: Discovering plan sponsor and participant preferences for cr…
    The Future of Infrastructure: Building a Better Tomorrow
    Outlook 2023: Opportunity in a volatile world
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East
      • 2023 ESG Investing