SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Alden Global Capital, which currently owns 31.6% of Tribune shares, is trying to buy the rest of the shares of the newspaper publisher. (Photo: Rachel Kramer/flickr/cc)
Horror as Hedge Fund Alden, Accused of 'Bloodless Strip-Mining of American Newspapers,' Moves to Buy Tribune Publishing
"If you're a shareholder and you have any concern for the future of this institution or the common good, please don't sell to Alden Global Capital."
Dec 30, 2020
Defenders of local newspapers expressed grave concern Thursday after Alden Global Capital--a hedge fund once dubbed "the face of bloodless strip-mining of American newspapers and their communities"--signaled it wants to have full ownership of Tribune Publishing.
"It's hard to imagine how this wouldn't be an apocalypse for local news," tweeted Wired editor Megan Greenwell.
News of the $520 million offer was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Chicago-based Tribune owns nine major newspapers including The Baltimore Sun, New York Daily News, and Chicago Tribune. Alden is already Tribune's largest shareholder, currently holding 31.6% of shares having acquired additional stakes in November--much to the outrage of newspaper unions.
Alden has "a media empire of roughly 200 newspapers nationwide," the New York Times noted, and is known, along with other hedge funds, for "wring[ing] profits from newspaper chains through austere management practices" including massive layoffs when taking over media entities.
The Save Maryland Newspapers website, an effort of the NewsGuild-CWA, is less muted in its criticism, describing Alden as "an unscrupulous hedge fund aimed at lining the pockets of a handful of investors at the expense of news, accountability, and the people of our community."
According to the Tribune:
Alden... made a nonbinding proposal on Dec. 14 to buy out other shareholders for $14.25 per share, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [...]
Launched in 2007, the hedge fund turned its focus to newspapers during the Great Recession, buying stakes in companies that had declared bankruptcy such as MediaNews, Philadelphia Media Network, and Journal Register.
"In June," CNN further noted, "Alden acquired a third seat on Tribune Publishing's board in exchange for a standstill agreement with the newspaper chain. The agreement prevents Alden from increasing its stake for the company until June 2021."
Alden's bid, the Tribune added, requires approval from the two-thirds of Tribune Publishing's shareholders, and that's something the Chicago Tribune Guild is hoping doesn't come.
"If you're a shareholder and you have any concern for the future of this institution or the common good," the union tweeted, "please don't sell to Alden Global Capital."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Defenders of local newspapers expressed grave concern Thursday after Alden Global Capital--a hedge fund once dubbed "the face of bloodless strip-mining of American newspapers and their communities"--signaled it wants to have full ownership of Tribune Publishing.
"It's hard to imagine how this wouldn't be an apocalypse for local news," tweeted Wired editor Megan Greenwell.
News of the $520 million offer was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Chicago-based Tribune owns nine major newspapers including The Baltimore Sun, New York Daily News, and Chicago Tribune. Alden is already Tribune's largest shareholder, currently holding 31.6% of shares having acquired additional stakes in November--much to the outrage of newspaper unions.
Alden has "a media empire of roughly 200 newspapers nationwide," the New York Times noted, and is known, along with other hedge funds, for "wring[ing] profits from newspaper chains through austere management practices" including massive layoffs when taking over media entities.
The Save Maryland Newspapers website, an effort of the NewsGuild-CWA, is less muted in its criticism, describing Alden as "an unscrupulous hedge fund aimed at lining the pockets of a handful of investors at the expense of news, accountability, and the people of our community."
According to the Tribune:
Alden... made a nonbinding proposal on Dec. 14 to buy out other shareholders for $14.25 per share, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [...]
Launched in 2007, the hedge fund turned its focus to newspapers during the Great Recession, buying stakes in companies that had declared bankruptcy such as MediaNews, Philadelphia Media Network, and Journal Register.
"In June," CNN further noted, "Alden acquired a third seat on Tribune Publishing's board in exchange for a standstill agreement with the newspaper chain. The agreement prevents Alden from increasing its stake for the company until June 2021."
Alden's bid, the Tribune added, requires approval from the two-thirds of Tribune Publishing's shareholders, and that's something the Chicago Tribune Guild is hoping doesn't come.
"If you're a shareholder and you have any concern for the future of this institution or the common good," the union tweeted, "please don't sell to Alden Global Capital."
Defenders of local newspapers expressed grave concern Thursday after Alden Global Capital--a hedge fund once dubbed "the face of bloodless strip-mining of American newspapers and their communities"--signaled it wants to have full ownership of Tribune Publishing.
"It's hard to imagine how this wouldn't be an apocalypse for local news," tweeted Wired editor Megan Greenwell.
News of the $520 million offer was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Chicago-based Tribune owns nine major newspapers including The Baltimore Sun, New York Daily News, and Chicago Tribune. Alden is already Tribune's largest shareholder, currently holding 31.6% of shares having acquired additional stakes in November--much to the outrage of newspaper unions.
Alden has "a media empire of roughly 200 newspapers nationwide," the New York Times noted, and is known, along with other hedge funds, for "wring[ing] profits from newspaper chains through austere management practices" including massive layoffs when taking over media entities.
The Save Maryland Newspapers website, an effort of the NewsGuild-CWA, is less muted in its criticism, describing Alden as "an unscrupulous hedge fund aimed at lining the pockets of a handful of investors at the expense of news, accountability, and the people of our community."
According to the Tribune:
Alden... made a nonbinding proposal on Dec. 14 to buy out other shareholders for $14.25 per share, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [...]
Launched in 2007, the hedge fund turned its focus to newspapers during the Great Recession, buying stakes in companies that had declared bankruptcy such as MediaNews, Philadelphia Media Network, and Journal Register.
"In June," CNN further noted, "Alden acquired a third seat on Tribune Publishing's board in exchange for a standstill agreement with the newspaper chain. The agreement prevents Alden from increasing its stake for the company until June 2021."
Alden's bid, the Tribune added, requires approval from the two-thirds of Tribune Publishing's shareholders, and that's something the Chicago Tribune Guild is hoping doesn't come.
"If you're a shareholder and you have any concern for the future of this institution or the common good," the union tweeted, "please don't sell to Alden Global Capital."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.