It's a tangled tale but essentially Asylum produced a film for the McDonald's charitable foundation for Leo. Freeman never responded. "And what we've seen in a lot of these places where newspapers have been scaled back or even closed is there really is no comparable product in place, whether it's by the government or by another news organization, to do what these local newspapers have done for hundreds of years.". Its a hedge that went and bought up some titles that it milks for cash.. After a long walk down a windowless hallway lined with cinder-block walls, I got in an elevator, which deposited me near a modest bank of desks near the printing press. But as an organization that believes that quality information is essential for individuals and communities to make their own bestchoices, it was disappointing that the foundation couldnt simply own up to its error in judgment when it came to Alden. But there was still a sliver of hope: Tribune and Alden agreed that the hedge fund would not increase its stake in the company for at least seven months. Some people believe that local newspapers will eventually be replaced by new publications, which Coppins describes as "built from the ground-up for the digital era." Glidden had heard rumblings about the papers owners when he first took the job, but he hadnt paid much attention. And when Chicago suffered a brutal summer crime wave, the paper had no one on the night shift to listen to the police scanner. "[21], shareholder rights plan, colloquially known as a "poison pill", "Alden Global Capital LLC NEW YORK , NY", "Company Overview of Alden Global Capital LLC", "Heath Freeman of Alden Global Capital says he wants to save local news. Many of the operators were looking at the newspaper business as a local advertising business, he said, and we didnt believe that was the right way to look at it.
The vulture is hungry again: Alden Global Capital wants to buy a few Updated May 21, 2021 at 2:13 PM ET. Traditional newspaper business model says you make 95% of your money off ad sales and the rest off subscriptions. Alden currently owns 32%. For Freeman, newspapers are financial assets and nothing morenumbers to be rearranged on spreadsheets until they produce the maximum returns for investors. That gave the journalists at the Sun a brief window to stop the sale from going through. "[28], In mid-February 2022, the Delaware court found in favor of Lee Enterprises. Glidden, then a mild-mannered 30-year-old, had come to journalism later in life than most and was eager to prove himself. Shares of Lee Enterprises Inc. rose sharply Monday after hedge fund Alden Global Capital LLC offered to buy the newspaper publisher for about $141 million. For a fleeting moment, Aldens newspapers became unexpected darlings of the journalism industrywritten about by Poynter and Nieman Lab, endorsed by academics like Jay Rosen and Jeff Jarvis.
Lee Enterprises rejects Alden Global Capital's unsolicited proposal The question was how. , From the February 1905 issue: The confessions of a newspaper woman, The papers union hired a PR firm to launch a public-awareness campaign under the banner Save Our Sun and published a letter calling on the Tribune board to sell the paper to local owners. Located in the same Manhattan office building as Alden, it funds stem-cell research, health-related charities, arts and culture and Duke University, alma mater of Smiths protg Heath Freeman. The shows premise pits two couples against each other for the chance to win a home. Aldens Distressed Opportunities Fund was launched in 2008 and saw astounding success in its first few months, showing returns of more than 30 percent a big rescue for Alden, whose investments in Russia the year before had lost more than 61 percent of their value. (Freeman denied this through a spokesperson.) With its acquisition of Tribune Publishing earlier this year, Alden now controls more than 200 newspapers, including some of the countrys most famous and influential: the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, the New York Daily News.
Alden Global Capital Is Killing the Newsroom - Common Dreams At the Suns peak, it employed more than 400 journalists, with reporters in London and Tokyo and Jerusalem. Knight first reported its investment in Alden in 2010, noting the fair market value of its Alden holdings was $13.4 million. In conversations with former Alden employees, I heard repeatedly that their partnership seemed to transcend business. If you went into a lab to create the perfect bro, Heath would be that creation, says one former executive at an Alden-owned company, who, like others in this story, requested anonymity to speak candidly.
'Vulture' Fund Alden Global, Known For Slashing Newsrooms, Buys Tribune Alden Global to buy Tribune Publishing for $630 million - Los Angeles Times Instead, they gutted the place. [11], In November 2021, Alden Global Capital made an offer to purchase Lee Enterprises for $24 a share in cash, or about $141 million. A quarter of the newsroom (including many big-name reporters, columnists and photographers) took the buyouts Alden offered, and while some great reporters remain on staff, it's nearly impossible for them to fill those gaps, Coppins says. After weeks of back-and-forth, he agreed to a phone call, but only if parts of the conversation could be on background (which is to say, I could use the information generally but not attribute it to him). [8][24] Tribune Publishing publishes nine major metropolitan dailies. Below are highlights from his conversation with Morning Edition's A Martnez. On . When a reporter asked if their work was still valued, the editor sounded deflated. At the end of last month, Alden Global Capital, a notorious newspaper-owning hedge fund, sought to stake its claim on one of the last newspaper chains it hasn't yet touched: Lee Enterprises, which owns 90 publications across the country.Alden, which currently owns six percent of Lee's stock, sent an unsolicited offer to purchase the newspaper chain for $24 per share. A recent Financial Times analysis found that half of all daily newspapers in the U.S. are controlled by financial firms, and Coppins says that number is all but certain to keep growing. Freeman, his 41-year-old protg and the president of the firm, would be unrecognizable in most of the newsrooms he owns. Hedge fund Alden Global Capital will acquire the rest of what it does not already own of Tribune Publishing, owner of the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News and other local newspapers, in a . (Freeman has, in the past, disputed Bainums account of the negotiations.) Theres little evidence that Alden cares about the sustainability of its newspapers. A month after he started, one of his fellow reporters left and Glidden was asked to start covering schools in addition to his other responsibilities. The Ubiquity - The student news site of Quartz Hill High School
Billionaires battle for Tribune Publishing | The Economist But there are some clues here and there.
Newspapers Have Been Struggling And Then Came The Pandemic - Forbes In May, The Alden Global Capital a hedge fund, acquired Tribune Publishing TPCO for $633 million.
Alden Global Capital - Wikipedia Ken Kelleher is an American sculptor. In addition to the constant layoffs, our buildings were being sold, basic office supplies became scarce and the hot water stopped working. John Temple: My newspaper died 10 years ago. But maybe the clearest illustration is in Vallejo, California, a city of about 120,000 people 30 miles north of San Francisco. For Baltimore to avoid a similar fate, Simon told me, something new would have to come alonga spiritual heir to the Sun: A newspaper is its contents and the people who make it. In Orlando, the Sentinel ran an editorial pleading with the community to deliver us from Alden and comparing the hedge fund to a biblical plague of locusts. In Allentown, Pennsylvania, reporters held reader forums where they tried to instill a sense of urgency about the threat Alden posed to The Morning Call. Alden Global Capital, a New York-based hedge fund that this year became the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, has made an offer to purchase Lee Enterprises, the media company that owns 75 daily newspapers, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Coppins notes that there's even some research indicating that city budgets increase as a result, because corruption and dysfunction can take hold without a newspaper to hold powerful people to account. In recent months, hes been meeting with leaders of local-news start-ups across the countryThe Texas Tribune, the Daily Memphian, The City in New Yorkand collecting best practices. If Knights total divestment from Alden in 2014 was because someone made an ethical decision to stop dealing with the vulture fund, good for them. Alden, which already owned one-third of . He said that he still appreciated their journalism, but that he couldnt speak for his corporate bosses. My request for an interview with Smith was dismissed by his spokesperson before I finished asking. I asked. AP. [33], Alden Global Capital's management of American newspapers has been criticized. We must finally require the online tech behemoths, such as Google, Apple, and Facebook, to fairly compensate us for our original news content, he told me. Reading these stories now has a certain horror-movie quality: You want to somehow warn the unwitting victims of whats about to happen. This is the story weve been telling for decades about the dying local-news industry, and its not without truth. He told me it will begin with an annual operating budget of $15 million, unprecedented for an outfit of this kind. But as long as Alden had made back its money, the investment would be a success. [3] [4] With its acquisition of Tribune Publishing in late . But in the meantime, there isn't really anything that can fill the hole these newspapers will leave if they're shut down.
Hedge fund Alden Global is buying newspaper chain Tribune Publishing Misinformation proliferates. [13], Newspapers in Alden's portfolio include Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Boston Herald, The Mercury News, East Bay Times, The Orange County Register, and Orlando Sentinel. . Its a game, Randy explains to his son. Those that have survived are smaller, weaker, and more vulnerable to acquisition. "[25], In early December, the board of Lee unanimously rejected the Alden bid, saying that the Alden proposal "grossly undervalues Lee and fails to recognize the strength of our business today. Layout design was outsourced to freelancers in the Philippines. Read: What we lost when Gannett came to town. It financed the deal with the help of Cerberusa private-equity firm that owned, among other businesses, the security company that trained Saudi operatives who participated in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you . [2] Its managing director is Heath Freeman. But outside the industry, few seemed to notice. about two hundred American newspapers.
NPR's A Martnez talks to McKay Coppins of The Atlantic about how a hedge fund, Alden Global Capital, is buying and then gutting newspapers and the implications for democracy. In May 2021, Tribune Publishing finalized its sale to Alden, after having announced in February 2021 that it intended to pursue this path. The Alden Global Capital .
Pioneer Press owner buys 11 more Minnesota papers - Star Tribune Now it might be facing extinction.
Tribune shareholders approve takeover by Alden Global Capital The pay was terrible and the work was not glamorous, but Glidden loved his job. ", "The most feared owner in American journalism looks set to take some of its greatest assets", "Minority shareholder sues Denver Post parent and NY hedge fund over 'breaches of fiduciary duty', "What does the Chicago Tribune sale mean for the future of newsrooms? The families that used to own the bulk of Americas local newspapersthe Bonfilses of Denver, the Chandlers of Los Angeleswere never perfect stewards. Iowa-based Lee Enterprises asks investors to help fight off hedge fund Alden Global Capital. He gained 100 pounds and started grinding his teeth at night. So far, Alden has limited its closures primarily to weekly newspapers, but Doctor argues its only a matter of time before the firm starts shutting down its dailies as well. Morale tanked; reporters burned out. New York hedge fund and U.S. newspaper consolidator Alden Global Capital LLC has made a proposal to take Lee Enterprises Inc. private in a deal that values the company at around $141 million. . It . Longtime Tribune staffers had seen their share of bad corporate overlords, but this felt more calculated, more sinister. With full control of Tribune Publishing, Alden Global Capital is scrambling to squeeze out a return on its $600 million investment in the struggling Chicago-based newspaper company. Heath Freeman in an undated photo provided by Goldin Solutions . It emphasizes supporting the emergence of new, sustainable models for local news, through both grantmaking and research, Sherry told me, including grant programs for nonprofit news organizations. To find the papers current headquarters one afternoon in late June, I took a cab across town to an industrial block west of the river. So Freeman pivoted. "60 Minutes" correspondent Jon Wertheim did a strong piece that aired Sunday night about the grim state of local newspapers, in part because of how hedge funds, such as Alden Global Capital . This company that owns us now seems to still be prettyI dont even know how to put it, the editor said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The Atlantic. The practical effect of the death of local journalism is that you get what weve had, he told me, which is a halcyon time for corruption and mismanagement and basically misrule.. [4][13], In November 2021, Alden made an offer to Lee to purchase the company in its entirety for roughly $141 million. In a news release Monday, Alden said it sent Lee's board a letter with the offer. After a contentious presidential race and amid a still-raging pandemic, there was a limited supply of outrage and sympathy to spare for local reporters. Knight began selling off its Alden holdings in 2012, and got completely out in 2014. Alden, a New York City-based firm that has become the grim reaper of American newspapers, had recently increased its stake in Tribune Publishing to 32%making it the largest shareholder of the . Tuesday, 23 November 2021 07:46 PM EST. When hed agreed to the interview, Id expected him to say the things he was supposed to saythat the layoffs and buyouts were necessary but tragic; that he held local journalism in the highest esteem; that he felt a sacred responsibility to steer these newspapers toward a robust future. Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund known for gutting local newsrooms, is seeking to buy Lee Enterprises (LEE), a publicly traded company with a chain of daily newspapers and other publications . Its not as if the Tribune is just withering on the vine despite the best efforts of the gardeners, Charlie Johnson, a former Metro reporter, told me after the latest round of buyouts this summer. Of course, its easy to romanticize past eras of journalism. When the Smiths win, they pass on the house and take the cash prize insteada $20,000 haul that Randy will eventually use to seed a small trading firm he calls R.D. He stops talking to the press, refuses to be photographed, and rarely appears in public. Even in the greed is good climate of the era, Randy is a polarizing character on Wall Street.
Module 5- Journalism.pdf - Journalism Modules - The 5 Ws Hedge fund Alden Global Capital, one of the country's largest newspaper owners with a reputation for intense cost cuts and layoffs, has offered to buy the local newspaper chain Lee Enterprises for . Stewart Bainum, since losing his bid for the Sun, has been quietly working on a new venture. That might sound like a losing formula, but these papers dont have to become sustainable businesses for Smith and Freeman to make money. We were like, Theyre not going to take our newspaper from us! It has not, however, retained the Chicago Tribune. [4][5] The company added more newspapers to its portfolio in May 2021 when it purchased Tribune Publishing and became the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States. hide caption. [30], Alden Global Capital includes a real estate division called Twenty Lake Holdings, which primarily buys excess real estate from newspapers. Lee Enterprises, the owner of daily newspapers in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, this morning rejected a hedge fund's proposal to take over the company. Last week, Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund notorious for slashing costs at its local titles, came down on the No side of the question, with editorial boards at papers that it owns stating that they will no longer endorse candidates for governor, US senator, or president. These papers were in many cases left for dead by local families not willing to make the tough but appropriate decisions to get these news organizations to sustainability. But this acquisition was profound, making Alden Global .
Hedge Fund Alden in Hunt for Another Big Newspaper Chain In February 2021, he announced a handshake deal to buy the Sun from Alden for $65 million once it acquired Tribune Publishing.
Alden Global Looks to Buy Newspaper Publisher Lee Enterprises The Hedge Fund Vampire That Bleeds Newspapers Dry Now Has the Theyre being targeted by investors who have figured out how to get rich by strip-mining local-news outfits. It seemed reasonable to ask that they answer a few questions. The editor in chief mysteriously resigned, and managers scrambled to deal with the cuts. He declined to meet me in person or to appear on Zoom. . The California Public Employees Retirement System, a few European banks, and Citigroup and Coca Cola Companys pension funds have all invested in Alden, along with charities such as the Circle of Service Foundation and the Alfred University Endowment.
Alden Global Capital moves to buy Lee Enterprises, owner of the St Alden Global Capital swallowed all of the Tribune's newspapers, including the New York Daily News, earlier in 2021.
Why Chicago Tribune Staffers Are Terrified Of Their Hedge Fund - Forbes Already the largest shareholder . With aggressive cost-cutting, Alden can operate its newspapers at a profit for years while turning out a steadily worse product, indifferent to the subscribers its alienating. Since they bought their first newspapers a decade ago, no one has been more mercenary or less interested in pretending to care about their publications long-term health. Senior lenders under the deal were to swap debt for stock. One acquaintance tells The Village Voice that hes the kind of guy who divests himself every couple of years to avoid ending up on lists of the worlds richest people. But most of them also had a stake in the communities their papers served, which meant that, if nothing else, their egos were wrapped up in putting out a respectable product. Next year, Bainum will launch The Baltimore Banner, an all-digital, nonprofit news outlet. For those who cared about the future of local news, it was hard to imagine a better outcomewhich made it all the more devastating when the bid fell through. [12] Lee owns daily newspapers in 77 markets in 26 states, and about 350 weekly and specialty publications. To replace a paper like the Sun would require a large, talented staff that covers not just government, but sports and schools and restaurants and art. Former Knight-Ridder headquarters. A Secretive Hedge Fund Is Gutting Newsrooms. [7][8] Alden's purchase price was $635 million, or $17.25 per share. At one point, I tracked down the photographer whod taken the only existing picture of Smith on the internet. So why be surprised that Knight-Ridder or anyone else is investing in destructive but profitable ventures? The one central theme, the Times reports, seems to be that Smith and its web of affiliates are out, first and foremost, for themselves. If this reputation bothers Randy and his colleagues, they dont let on: For a while, according to The Village Voice, his firm proudly hangs a painting of a vulture in its lobby. But within weeks, Bainum said, Alden tried to tack on a five-year licensing deal that would have cost him tens of millions more. Alden began its acquisition of Tribune Publishing in 2019, when they paid $117.9 million to Michael Ferro for his 25.2-percent stake. Feb 16, 2021 at 8:05 pm. [29] This attempt also failed, as shareholders returned both directors to the Lee board despite Alden's opposition. This story originally appeared on the Morning Edition live blog. But for Simon, that paper exists entirely in the past. City budgets balloon, along with corruption and dysfunction.
Tampa Bay Times sells printing plant to developer for $21 million Some expressed exasperation with the staff of the Chicago Tribune, who were unable to find a single interested local buyer. Im repulsed by the incestuous world of New York journalism, he tells New York magazine. The term vulture capitalism hasnt been invented yet, but Randy will come to be known as a pioneer in the field. Most of his investments are defined by a cold pragmatism, but he takes a more personal interest in the media sector. This is predatory.. If they did it right, Venetoulis said, they just might be able to line up a local, civic-minded owner for the paper. Two veteran journalists from the Chicago Tribune published an op-ed on Sunday challenging one of the paper's principal owners, the New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital. These include the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, and The Baltimore Sun. The Banner will launch with about 50 journalistsnot far from the size of the Sunand an ambitious mandate. The Tribune had been profitable when Alden took over. 'Sobs, gasps, expletives' over latest Denver Post layoffs", "The Hedge Fund Vampire That Bleeds Newspapers Dry Now Has the Chicago Tribune by the Throat", "How Massive Cuts Have Remade The Denver Post", "Newsonomics: By selling to Americas worst newspaper owners, Michael Ferro ushers the vultures into Tribune", "A Secretive Hedge Fund Is Gutting Newsrooms", "Affiliated Media Files for Bankruptcy to Restructure (Update2)", "The shakeup at MediaNews: Why it could be the leadup to a massive newspaper consolidation", "Alden Global Capital to buy Tribune in deal valued at $630 million", "Lee Enterprises Enacts Poison Pill to Guard Against Alden Takeover", "Lee Enterprises Board Rejects Alden's Acquisition Offer", "Alden Global Capital takes Lee Enterprises to court over failed board nominations", "Alden Global Capital sues Lee Enterprises after rejected takeover bid", "Alden Global Capital loses lawsuit to nominate its slate of candidates for Lee Enterprises' board", "Lee Enterprises shareholders reelect three directors amid hedge fund fight", "Tampa Bay Times sells printing plant to developer for $21 million", "A hedge fund's 'mercenary' strategy: Buy newspapers, slash jobs, sell the buildings", "The hedge fund trying to buy Gannett faces federal probe after investing newspaper workers' pensions in its own funds", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alden_Global_Capital&oldid=1130942589, This page was last edited on 1 January 2023, at 19:27.