Local journalism under attack
Life in Texas is safer than upstate New York
The Front Page
Morning Update
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Thursday, November 25, 2021
By Ken Tingley
The news Tuesday morning was bleak if you believe in journalism and democracy.
Lee Enterprises, which counts The Post-Star among its portfolio of 75 newspapers, was mentioned in the same sentence as Alden Global Capital.
That is bad.
Actually, that is very bad.
This is how one of my readers described Alden:
“Alden is a global hedge fund gutting every newsroom they buy. See what they have done with other community newspapers nationwide. They gut the staff, sell the real estate, jack up the subscriptions prices and wring out as much cash as possible.”
Alden has made an offer to buy Lee Enterprises and The Post-Star.
Alden’s reputation is well known.
“They (Alden) hide in the shadows but they’re the worst of newspaper owners,” Cooper told the Poynter Institute. “They care about nothing but the bottom line and pounce on this notion that newspapers are dead or a dead medium — and that's just not true.”
Both the Troy Record and The Saratogian are Alden newspapers. Both were once respectable community newspapers. Both have been gutted.
Chris Churchill, columnist for the Times-Union, called me Tuesday to talk about Alden. He asked me if I was worried about the journalists at The Post-Star.
Sadly, most of the staff members I worked with are already gone, but Will Doolittle, Bob Condon and Greg Brownell - all stalwart journalists - are all still there fighting the good fight.
Yes, I worry about their future, but more than that, I worry about the future of our communities.
Without reporters and editors reporting the news, demanding transparency of elected officials and accountability, our communities will wither. Fewer people will vote, taxes will go up and corruption will go unchecked.
As I’ve gone around the region over the past few months and talked to groups about my book “The Last American Editor,” the conversations inevitably come back to newspapers and their future.
Lifetime readers are worried.
If Alden takes over, it could mean things will get worse.
“The fewer reporters you have, the fewer reporters you have to watch out for government waste and wrongdoing,” Cooper told Poynter. “It becomes this cycle and they lead newspapers to circle the drain until you’re only covering the bare minimum.”
What I have found is that those who have been lifetime readers still enjoy the product and want to support the men and women who work there, but it is Alden and its kind who are preying on their loyalty. They know they won’t give up on the newspaper because it is too important to them.
That makes Alden scum in my book.
Lee Enterprises has tried to remain independent and has always emphasized its commitment to local news. That may be why it bought the Berkshire Hathaway chain, hoping it would be too big to be gobbled up.
“Lee has run its properties pretty tightly to say the least,”St. Louis Post-Dispatch union President Jeff Gordon said, “but Alden will take it to the next level. Alden does not look at these properties in any sort of overly long-term view. They just want to get some money out of it and move on.”
Kathy Kiely, who studies free press at the University of Missouri, told Poynter Alden’s purchase of Lee would be a “disaster for democracy.”
This is not hyperbole.
At a time when local people don’t what to believe or who to trust, this could be a dagger to our country and our community.
“This sort of hedge fund behavior is really putting greed and self-dealing above democracy,” Kiely told Poynter. “It’s a dagger to the heart of democracy.”
Alden has made a strong offer to purchase Lee Enterprises. It already has a 6 percent stake in the company.
The reader who contacted me sounded desperate. He hoped I could do something.
“You are perhaps one of the few voices the owners of The Post-Star may listen to,” he said.
But this is big business. There is not only little I can do, but maybe not much the company can do.
“Please don’t let this happen to our Post-Star,” the reader pleaded. That’s how much people care about their local newspaper.
To Kevin Mowbray, Marcy Junck and all the other newspaper executives at Lee Enterprises, I add my voice: Don’t let this happen.
Spurs game
The Covid-19 infection rate in Texas is very low. While attending an NBA game in San Antonio Monday night almost no one was wearing a mask. But at the local supermarket, most were wearing a mask.
When the owner of the house I was renting greeted us Tuesday, she asked if we wanted her to wear a mask.
I told her we were from upstate New York where the infection rate is very bad. For her protection, she should wear one.
Lee Enterprises owns 75 newspapers, so it is unlikely anyone could afford that type of deal.
I appreciate your comments, my exact thoughts when I saw that a Hedge Fund was going after the Post Star. They are famous for doing just what you outlined. Rape and pillage an acquisition with no regard for the local community. Another unhealthy piece of our Capitalistic society. Thanks for the information and your views.