Tag: Alden

Orlando Sentinel journalists join Florida surge, announce union organizing campaign

Feb. 28, 2020 – Inspired by recent union victories in newsrooms across the country, the journalists at the Orlando Sentinel announced Tuesday they too are forming a union, the Sentinel Guild, part of The NewsGuild-CWA.

Union organizers at the Sentinel are part of surge in union organizing among journalists, especially in Florida: The staff at the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald voted overwhelmingly in favor of union in November 2019 and in the space of a week employees at the Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News announced they are forming the Palm Beach News Guild, and employees of the Naples Daily News, News-Press, Banner and Marco Eagle said they are forming the Southwest Florida News Guild. Continue reading “Orlando Sentinel journalists join Florida surge, announce union organizing campaign”

Hedge fund founder Randall Smith and his wife gave $100,000 to the president’s 2020 joint fundraising committee

This article first appeared on Feb. 4, 2020, on the website of dfmworkers.org.

On a sweltering July afternoon last year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren unveiled proposed legislation aimed at making hedge funds and private equity firms more transparent and accountable. Continue reading “Hedge fund founder Randall Smith and his wife gave $100,000 to the president’s 2020 joint fundraising committee”

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”

NewsGuild demands answers from Alden-backed members on Tribune’s board

Dec. 20, 2019 – The NewsGuild-CWA is demanding answers from two members of the Board of Directors of Tribune Publishing – directors who were appointed on the recommendation of Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund known as “the destroyer of newspapers.” Continue reading “NewsGuild demands answers from Alden-backed members on Tribune’s board”

Real estate sell-off and increased debt are possible outcomes of an Alden takeover

This article first appeared on the DFMworkers.org on Dec. 5, 2019.

By Julie Reynolds

Dec. 5, 2019 – One week after Alden Global Capital announced it took a nearly one-third stake in Tribune Publishing, the New York hedge fund appears positioned for a full takeover of Tribune newspapers by next summer. Continue reading “Real estate sell-off and increased debt are possible outcomes of an Alden takeover”

NewsGuild-CWA Denounces Alden Stake in Tribune Publishing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 20, 2019

Washington, D.C. – The purchase by Alden Global Capital of a 25.2 percent stake in Tribune Publishing is a source of deep concern for NewsGuild-CWA members.

“Alden has single-handedly hollowed out the news organization it controls,” said NewsGuild President Bernie Lunzer. “It has liquidated assets – both real estate and employees – solely for its own benefit and without regard to the effects of its policies on news reporting in towns and cities across the country,” he said. Between 2012 and 2019, Alden cut 71 percent of Guild-represented jobs at MediaNews Group newspapers (aka Digital First Media) it controls. Continue reading “NewsGuild-CWA Denounces Alden Stake in Tribune Publishing”

NewsGuild testimony to House Financial Services Committee

Nov. 18, 2019 – NewsGuild-CWA President Bernie Lunzer submitted written testimony to the House Financial Services Committee for its Nov. 19 hearing titled, “American for Sale? An Examination of the Practices of Private Funds.”

The testimony exposes the destructive role of Alden Global Capital, which controls Digital First Media.

“The hollowing out of local news is no mere inconvenience,” Lunzer notes. “Because of the draconian cuts, many local newspapers can no longer cover city meetings, community events, school board votes or high school sports. Recent research from the University of Illinois–Chicago and the University of Notre Dame found that communities that have become “news deserts” pay higher taxes and bond rates and are at greater risk of political corruption. Other studies show lower voter turnout and increased partisanship. In other words, when the watchdogs are gone, democracy dies. Private equity has helped kill the watchdogs.”

A Capitol Idea: Calling Out Hedge Funds

By Evan Brandt

July 24, 2019 – Sometimes, shouting into the wilderness gets results.

Last week I took a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. to take part in a press conference announcing the introduction of the “Stop Wall Street Looting Act.”

To be clear, I had not read the proposed legislation and I was not there to endorse it

Continue reading “A Capitol Idea: Calling Out Hedge Funds”

The Alden Global Capital Crazy Wall

In which we map Alden’s layers of shell companies to try to figure out who owns your hometown newspaper

This article first appeared on June 24, 2019, on the website of DFMworkers.org.

By Julie Reynolds

Almost every crime movie these days has a crazy wall. It’s one of those bulletin boards detectives put together while they’re trying to solve a crime, and they usually have lots of strings connecting people, places, companies and crime families.

You know, like the Avon Barksdale wall in The Wire

Continue reading “The Alden Global Capital Crazy Wall”

Alden President Heath Freeman and others may face subpoenas, depositions

This article first appeared on June 6, 2019, on the website of DFMworkers.org.

By Julie Reynolds

June 6, 2019 – The secretive business practices of Alden Global Capital, owner of the Digital First Media newspaper chain, will soon face scrutiny in a federal bankruptcy court, just weeks after Alden’s failed attempt to take over Gannett Co. Continue reading “Alden President Heath Freeman and others may face subpoenas, depositions”