Frequently dubbed a “vulture”, with its business activities often decried as “vulture capitalism”, hedge fund Alden Global Capital tends to receive generally negative press. One reason for this is the company’s continued investment in U.S. newspapers – investments which later tend to lead to lay-offs and closures. In an already struggling industry where lay-offs are common and a looming recession exacerbates this trend further, local papers in particular are the most at risk. When these small publications are acquired and then broken down later, it is the people in small rural communities who are the most affected, who are left without access to trusted local publications they rely on for relevant coverage of their area.
Alden’s involvement in local news
In 2011, Journal-Register Co. was bought by Alden and rebranded to Digital First Media. Alden continues to operate its news business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group and is now the second-largest newspaper owner in the U.S. following its acquisition of Tribune in 2021. Whilst leading newspaper owner Gannett has also come under fire for its staff cuts and falling circulation figures, the issue of investors from outside the news industry infiltrating local news is a separate one. Alden in particular has been accused of buying up local newspapers with little to no interest in truly investing in local news media, instead utilizing the publications for their real estate and cash.
The number of local newspapers in publication in the U.S. fell by over 2,000 between 2004 and 2022, something which has numerous ramifications. Local news is overall more trusted than national news, particularly when it comes to voting, reporting without bias, and getting information about local communities. As local news fades away, consumers are faced with turning to news outlets which are more partisan and deemed less trustworthy. The fight for local news, however, is not over.
The other end of the spectrum: regional investors
A relatively recent newcomer to the world of local news, CherryRoad Media, is now among the leading daily newspaper owners in the United States. Since late 2020, the company has been buying local newspapers across the U.S. and the most recently available data found that CherryRoad had 19 dailies. Paxton Media and Ogden Newspapers have also been buying up these smaller publications, whether they be papers sold off by larger conglomerates like Gannett and those which could potentially be approached by Alden. According to CEO Jeremy Gulban, CherryRoad is interested in using its background in tech to improve the digital presence of local newspapers to help bring them up to date with industry trends.
Whilst smaller chains investing in a landscape already filling with news deserts will not be a quick fix, there remains some hope for smaller communities seeking to keep or revive the trusted local publications they rely on.
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