“Every day means the turn of a page.” —The Rolling Stones, “Yesterday’s Papers” W hen New York-based hedge fund throughout the 128-year-old daily newspaper was: What changes are in store—for employees, the newsroom and the quality of journalism going forward at the Pulitzer Prize-winning publication? The answers in the short term were as telling as they were rapid: A number of layoffs and some consolidation occurred almost immediately. What it means in the longer term is opaque—stasis or a slow bleed are the more optimistic scenarios put forth by local media watchdogs. That’s because Alden Global’s reputation as an owner of newspapers precedes itself, especially in media circles. Once described in Vanity Fair as “the grim reaper of American newspapers,” AGC is known for buying up financially challenged publications, consolidating departments, cutting staff and selling off assets. Since going on a newspaper buying binge in the late 2000s, the hedge fund has stuck consistently to its formula of so-called “rightsizing” newspapers, or as it prefers, “distressed opportunities.” Alden Global Capital and its subsidiary MediaNews Group purchased the Santa Rosa Press Democrat last May for a reported $10 million, the question swirling In many ways, any conjecture at the Press Democrat and its former parent company Sonoma Media Investments about what a future under Alden Global would look like are largely superfluous. The question has been answered—at other newspapers, many times over. One early example that drew national attention is the Mercury , a once-thriving publication covering Pottstown, Pennsylvania, a borough of 24,000 people about a 90-minute drive from Philadelphia. Pottstown has enough goings on for the Mercury to have once supported 30 editorial staff—a mix of reporters, photographers, editors and everyone else needed to cover city hall, sports, features, crime and schools in a community. The Mercury was acquired by Alden Global Capital in 2011. AGC sold the newspaper’s building, cut staff and offered buyouts to remaining employees. Today,
“Philadelphia cluster” of seven local mastheads also purchased and “rightsized” by Alden Global. North Bay media watchdogs can also look closer to home— the Marin Independent Journal in San Rafael has been an Alden Global asset since 2010, when the hedge fund became majority owner of the IJ’s parent company MediaNews Group. Within a year, the paper had relocated from its longtime home in Novato to a smaller office building in Terra Linda (headquarters now is an even smaller space in an industrial area of San Rafael). Layoffs and buyouts over the years have reduced its once- thriving newsroom to a smattering of editors and reporters, each covering multiple beats throughout the county of more than 250,000. In a story NBb published in September about the PD sale, one IJ reporter described the newsroom situation as a “skeleton crew” plagued by low pay and even lower morale. Whether that proves to be the trajectory of the Press Democrat is anyone’s guess. One former IJ editor commented on social media that Alden could turn the two dailies into a single North Bay Journal. It wasn’t clear if she was joking. …… In the nine months since the sale, the Press Democrat has downsized. Sources within the PD newsroom in October confirmed five newsroom layoffs (three photographers, two reporters), as well as two editors and a copy editor leaving for other jobs, while another longtime journalist accepted a buyout offer. Across the company, 52 employees—around 40% of the staff—had either left or been let go in Alden’s first four months of ownership, including its CEO, COO, the entire human resources department, among other positions consolidated into MediaNews’s general operations, sources within the company have told NBb . One of those employees to get a taste of Alden’s recipe is former Chief Operations Officer Troy Niday, who’d been with Sonoma Media Investments for more than 10 years before being laid off in the wake of last May’s buyout. The Rohnert Park resident had overseen SMI’s production, distribution, consumer revenue and audience development efforts since 2014. A Nebraska native, Niday got his start in newspaper circulation at the Omaha World-Herald before moving on to direct circulation at the Arizona Republic , the Oklahoman and then running circulation and production operations at four Newhouse newspapers in Alabama. He is a past president of the International News Media Association's North American board and was active in several industry associations in leadership roles. To say Niday has ink in his blood might be literal. Having witnessed the shrinking of community led journalism over the past 30 years, the sale of his once-locally-owned hometown daily to Alden Global is particularly jarring to Niday, 62. “In the 1990s, 70 to 80% of all media companies were owned locally, now 70 to 80% are corporate owned,” says Niday. “The financial reality has changed from local stewardship to corporate absentee stewardship focused more on the money than on journalism.” Adds Niday: “It is systemic. And it is unsustainable.” Mark Twain is credited with having said: "A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it." Five months after the PD was sold to “the grim reaper of
there’s a single writer covering
news in Pottstown, a mix of beats that once warranted 10 reporters. The Mercury’s online news site, pottsmerc.com , is a long list of Associated Press stories, with a smattering of regional news bylined by reporters from its so-called
Troy Niday, creator of Press Onward.
40 NorthBaybiz
January 2026
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