Connecticut legislature hears testimony on the value of the Hartford Courant

A committee of the Connecticut state legislature heard compelling testimony Thursday about the value of The Hartford Courant to the local community and the threat that Alden Global Capital poses to it.

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Congress addresses the local news crisis

In a hearing on saving “the free and diverse press,” NewsGuild president urges lawmakers to protect local news and jobs

Summing up the nation’s local news crisis as a combination of unfair siphoning of advertising revenue by online platforms and “predatory financial actors” who strip newsrooms of jobs and resources, NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss testified Friday at a congressional hearing to address the nation’s local news crisis.

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Good news for Maryland, bad news for everyone else

Yesterday, Marylanders got some great news: a local investor wants to buy The Baltimore Sun and other Maryland newspapers owned by Tribune Publishing. Other communities with Tribune papers got bad news: the vampire hedge fund Alden Global Capital wants to take over the rest of the company.

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Tribune board agrees to sell company to Alden; union vows to continue to fight for quality journalism

Deal includes selling The Baltimore Sun and several other papers to a nonprofit foundation;
Sale must be approved by two-thirds of remaining shareholders.

Alden Global Capital, the New York hedge fund known for draconian cost-cutting at newspapers in its MNG Enterprises chain, has reached a deal with board members at Tribune Publishing to acquire the publicly traded company and take it private.

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NewsGuild asks Treasury Secretary Yellen to investigate Alden’s secretive offshore ownership of news chains

Request comes as Alden is poised to acquire Tribune Publishing.

As New York vulture fund Alden Global Capital takes steps to take majority control of Tribune Publishing, The NewsGuild-CWA has requested a federal inquiry into Alden’s secretive offshore ownership structure.

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NewsGuild calls on Treasury Secretary Yellen to review Alden’s proposed acquisition of Tribune

For immediate release

Contact: Sally Davidow
sdavidow@cwa-union.org

The NewsGuild-CWA today called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to conduct a review of the proposed acquisition of Tribune Publishing by Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that is notorious in the news industry as a bad actor. 

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Journalists’ Union Calls for Removal of Members of Tribune Board of Directors

Cites breach of fiduciary duties by Alden directors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 6, 2021; original release Jan. 5, 2021


CONTACT: Sally Davidow
sdavidow@cwa-union.org

The Chicago News Guild has called for the immediate removal of three members of the Tribune Publishing Board of Directors, citing a breach of fiduciary duties in a recent filing of regulatory disclosures. A shareholder proposal sent to Tribune Board Chairman cites misconduct by Tribune directors Randall D. Smith, Dana Goldsmith Needleman, and Christopher Minnetian related to the recently disclosed action of Mr. Smith – Alden Global Capital’s founder.

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A joint statement on Tribune Publishing’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders

May 22, 2020 – The NewsGuild-represented units of Tribune Publishing issued a joint statement Friday after shareholders approved two permanent additions to the board of directors that consolidated Alden Global Capital’s power over the company. It appears below. Download the PDF. Continue reading “A joint statement on Tribune Publishing’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders”

Employees Decry the State of Journalism at Tribune Publishing; Call on Shareholders to Reject Alden’s Nominees to Board of Directors

May 19, 2020 – Employees at Tribune Publishing are deeply concerned about the direction of the company, according to a survey of Tribune employees conducted by The NewsGuild-CWA last month. [PDF] Continue reading “Employees Decry the State of Journalism at Tribune Publishing; Call on Shareholders to Reject Alden’s Nominees to Board of Directors”

Now Alden is circling Lee newspapers

Cash from understaffed DFM papers was used to finance stock purchase

This article first appeared on the website of DFMworkers.org on Jan. 29, 2020

By Julie Reynolds

Jan. 30, 2020 – Alden Global Capital, the New York vulture hedge fund gutting Digital First Media newspapers, has acquired a $9.2 million stake in one of its rivals, Lee Enterprises, siphoning money from Alden’s highly profitable and understaffed papers to finance the stock purchase. Continue reading “Now Alden is circling Lee newspapers”