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TAMPA A Los Angeles-based private equity investment group has bought the Tampa Tribune from longtime parent Media General for $9.5 million, promising to improve the daily newspaper as it took control Monday morning.

Revolution Capital Group, a 3-year-old firm, is making its first foray into newspapers. The move marks a new chapter in the long-standing newspaper war between the Tribune and its larger rival, the Tampa Bay Times.

The acquisition, meanwhile, ends Media General's 150-plus-year involvement in the newspaper business.

"It's a bittersweet day for Media General to complete the sale of its last remaining newspaper group," Marshall N. Morton, company president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. "The Tampa Tribune was our largest and second oldest newspaper. Many Tribune employees have decades of service.''

Revolution Capital Group works with corporate sellers to buy their smaller, noncore assets that often have not been able to attract buyers, according to the company's website. So far, it has bought businesses in telecommunications, manufacturing and software.

Under the deal, the Tribune, its affiliated newspapers and website, tbo.com, will be operated by the Tampa Media Group, a locally based company created by Revolution Capital.

Revolution did not directly address whether there would be layoffs among the 618 employees of the new Tampa Media Group.

"Today is a big day; it's a celebration. We have new owners," Tribune publisher William Barker said in introducing top Revolution Capital executives to Tribune staffers Monday morning. Video of the announcement quickly surfaced on YouTube.

Revolution founder and managing partner Robert Loring and co-founding partner Cyrus Nikou said they wanted to grow the business and promised to support the staff. "You guys are really the experts and know the business better than anyone else," Nikou said.

Asked by a staffer whether they would add employees, Revolution managing director Aman Bajaj said: "It's not always that hiring more people is the best way to grow a newspaper. We are in the process of analyzing that."

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Tampa Tribune sold to Revolution Capital Group

China Labor Watch is reporting that another Foxconn strike broke out on Friday at the Zhengzhou factory in China. The report says 3,000 to 4,000 Foxconn(2038) are complaining about Apples (AAPL) demanding quality standards for the iPhone 5. China Labor Watch further reports that workers are under immense pressure to deliver iPhone 5s without receiving adequate training on how to improve yield rates.

It was reported that factory management and Apple, despite design defects, raised strict quality demands on workers, including indentations standards of 0.02mm and demands related to scratches on frames and back covers, notes China Labor Watch. With such demands, employees could not even turn out iPhones that met the standard.

iPhone 5 production lines are currently in a state of paralysis for the entire day. A brawl between production line workers and quality control inspectors also resulted in the latter getting beaten up. Factory management is reportedly turning their back on the issue.China Labor Watchs press release follows below.

Large-scale Strike of iPhone 5 Production Lines at Foxconns Zhengzhou Factory

China Labor Watch

October 5, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(New York) China Labor Watch (CLW) announced that at 1:00PM on October 5 (Beijing time), a strike occurred at Foxconns Zhengzhou factory that, according to workers, involved three to four thousand production workers. In addition to demanding that workers work during the holiday, Foxconn raised overly strict demands on product quality without providing worker training for the corresponding skills. This led to workers turning out products that did not meet standards and ultimately put a tremendous amount of pressure on workers. Additionally, quality control inspectors fell into to conflicts with workers and were beat up multiple times by workers. Factory management turned a deaf ear to complaints about these conflicts and took no corrective measures. The result of both of these circumstances was a widespread work stoppage on the factory floor among workers and inspectors.

The majority of workers who participated in this strike were workers from the OQC (onsite quality control) line. According to workers, multiple iPhone 5 production lines from various factory buildings were in a state of paralysis for the entire day. It was reported that factory management and Apple, despite design defects, raised strict quality demands on workers, including indentations standards of 0.02mm and demands related to scratches on frames and back covers. With such demands, employees could not even turn out iPhones that met the standard. This led to a tremendous amount of pressure on workers. On top of this, they were not permitted to have a vacation during the holiday. This combination of factors led to the strike.

That quality control inspectors would also strike is of no surprise. According to workers, there was a fight between workers and quality control inspectors in area K that led to the damage in inspection room CA, the injury of some people, and the hospitalization of others. After this, another similar incident occurred in area K, once again leading to quality control inspectors getting beat up. Yesterday, inspectors in area L received physical threats. When inspectors reported these issues to factory management, the management simply ignored and turned their back on the issue. For these reasons, all day and night shift inspectors carried out a work stoppage today that paralyzed the production lines.

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4,000 Foxconn workers on strike over iPhone 5 quality control measures, inadequate training

BEIJING (AP) Foxconn Technology Group denied on Saturday that production was affected at a Chinese factory that makes Apple's iPhones, although both state media and an overseas labor watch group said some workers halted production lines on Friday, apparently over higher quality control standards.

New York-based China Labor Watch reported that 3,000 to 4,000 workers at the Foxconn plant in the central China's Zhengzhou city went on strike Friday over increased quality control demands and having to work during an extended national holiday.

The official Xinhua News Agency, quoting a spokesman for the management committee of the Xinzheng Comprehensive Bonded Area where the plant is located, said some production lines were halted Friday when workers persuaded quality inspectors to skip work to show their dissatisfaction over higher quality standards.

In a written statement issued Saturday, the Taiwan-based electronic manufacturer Foxconn said production at the Zhengzhou plant continued without interruption. It denied any strike or work stoppage.

Foxconn said there were two isolated, small-scale disputes between production line workers and quality assurance personnel on Monday and Tuesday, but it added that they were quickly addressed. It did not specify what issues had caused the disputes but said immediate measures were taken to resolve the problems, including adding production line workers.

Xinhua said some workers were unhappy when Apple strengthened quality inspections of the iPhone 5 following consumer complaints regarding aesthetic flaws in the phone. In the Xinhua report, the spokesman who was not named characterized the incident as a worker-management dispute instead of a strike and was unable to provide a specific number of workers involved.

China Labor Watch said several iPhone 5 production lines at the factory were paralyzed after the workers found the new quality control demands difficult to meet and went on strike. The group said the workers also were angry about being forced to work through China's National Day Golden Week holiday, which ends Sunday.

The iPhone 5, the latest in the line of the smartphones, debuted in September.

Foxconn said its employees in China who worked during the holiday did so voluntarily and were being paid three times their normal pay, in accordance with Chinese labor law.

China Labor Watch said workers also beat quality control inspectors, who carried out their own work stoppage after management ignored their complaints.

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Foxconn workers halt production at iPhone plant

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Oct 5, 2012) - MediaCom USA announced today that it has been awarded media responsibilities for AARP, the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial to them and society.

The media assignment includes traditional and non-traditional planning and buying, insights, analytics and business science.

The win comes after a competitive review that began in February 2012. The appointment was effective October 1, 2012, and will be managed out of the MediaCom USA headquarters in New York City.

"AARP is committed to numerous causes, including caregiver assistance, ending hunger and making a positive impact in thousands of communities, and we share their passion for change," said Sasha Savic, CEO of MediaCom USA. "We're honored to work together to deliver the savings and strategic leadership that will future-proof the AARP brand and help bring its agenda to life."

Based in Washington, D.C., AARP has been representing people over 50 since its inception in 1958. With over 37 million members, it is one of the largest organizations in the United States.

MediaCom is part of GroupM, the parent company for WPP's media services agencies, which also include Maxus, MEC and Mindshare.

About MediaCom MediaCom is one of the world's leading media communications specialists, with billings exceeding US $28 billion (Source:RECMA 2012). It employs 4,600 people in 113 offices across 89 countries around the globe. The company's strategy is driven by its "People first, better results" philosophy, which places people -- consumers, clients and employees -- at its core to generate optimum business results. The MediaCom family includes a number of industry-leading divisions, such as: MediaCom Interaction, a global digital and interactive marketing agency, which uses future-forward proprietary technology to grow client businesses; direct response agency MediaCom Direct, which creates close, measured connections with consumers; branded content specialists MediaCom Beyond Advertising; sports sponsorship and strategy team MediaCom Sport; and MediaCom Business Science, which ensures clients achieve maximum sales return. MediaCom Worldwide is a member of WPP, the world's largest marketing communications services group, and part of GroupM, WPP's consolidated media investment management arm. For more information, visit http://www.mediacom.com.

About GroupM GroupM is the world's largest global media investment management operation, with total billings exceeding US $90 billion (Source:RECMA 2012). It serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including MediaCom, Maxus, MEC, and Mindshare. Its primary purpose is to maximise the performance of WPP's media communications agencies on behalf of its clients, its shareholders and its people by operating as a parent and collaborator in performance-enhancing activities such as trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, proprietary tool development and other business-critical capabilities. The agencies that comprise GroupM are all global operations in their own right with leading market positions. The focus of GroupM is the intelligent application of physical and intellectual scale to benefit trading, innovation, and new communication services, and to bring competitive advantage to its clients and companies. For more information, visit http://www.groupm.com.

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MediaCom USA Wins AARP Media Assignment

WBC President, Jose Sulaiman has often been accused of working for the benefit of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and even, at times, running interference for the second generation star. After all, he did allow for a path to be paved where Chavez Jr. could fight extremely weak opposition en route to a practically gift wrapped WBC middleweight title belt. He also allowed for the fighter to keep his belt for as long as possible without having to face the legitimate lineal champ, Sergio Martinez.

Now, almost three weeks after Chavez tested positive for marijuana following his unanimous decision loss to Sergio Martinez, Sulaiman has gone to the media with some harsh words for the young fighter that could either be considered tough love or spiteful backlash.

After stating his intention to fine Chavez $20,000 and force him to go to rehabilitation as a condition for being allowed to return to a WBC ring, the long-time official revealed that the 26-year-old fighter, who is still facing punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, may be in more serious trouble than anyone thought.

"He's not the young man I know anymore," Sulaiman said. "He's become bitter and has an out of control passion for throwing his money away. He loses much of it in the casinos. So, what he makes, he just hands over to the casinos. That's truly terrible. It shows that he's not on firm ground. He has lost his head."

The Mexico City native, who has been close to the Chavez family for years, also said that the young fighter has hurled insults at him in a recent outburst.

"I feel disappointed. I'm worried and I feel sad. Disappointed because he was the one who changed his life. He's a person who doesn't have to fight to make money. Since he was born, he's always been a poor rich kid."

Over the course of his nine year professional career, Chavez has seen trouble and controversy before, in situations ranging from questionable decisions in his favor to a 2009 positive drug test for a banned substance and a DUI arrest earlier this year.

Depending on how you feel about the legalization of marijuana and/or its role as a banned substance in the fight game, this latest offense could be considered the least of his offenses. But, still, for those who care about the young man outside of the ring, this should be prime motivation to get him some help before things escalate out of control.

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Paul Magno was a licensed official in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, and a close follower of the sport for more than 30 years. His work can also be found on Fox Sports and The BoxingTribune. In the past, Paul has done work for Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules and Eastside Boxing.

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WBC President: Chavez Jr. Out of Control, "Poor, Rich Kid." Fan's Take