“Owning a newspaper is a license to print money.” —well-known quote, widely attributed to 20th century media mogul Roy Thomson T he saga of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat sale to Alden Global Capital in May raised more questions than answers. But the primary question goes like this: Why would an ownership group trumpeting the importance of community journalism sell its respected local daily to a company described as “the most reviled newspaper owner in the business”? Other colorful descriptors of Alden Global include “the grim reaper of American newspapers” and a company “seemingly intent on destroying local journalism." In his message to the employees announcing the sale, former PD majority owner Darius Anderson promised Alden Global would ensure the “highest-caliber local journalism for future North Bay generations.” But no one familiar with Alden Global’s reputation for draconian cost cutting and layoffs was buying it. It’s been four months since the sale sent shockwaves through the Press Democrat building at 416 B St. in Santa Rosa—and the tale is even less clear now than when it was completed. Since the deal was announced May 1, NorthBay biz has spoken
with many sources at the Press Democrat and beyond in an effort to piece together the puzzle of how a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper was sold off to a New York investment firm carrying a brutal journalistic reputation. Besides the PD , other publications in the sale by parent company Sonoma Media Investments LLC (SMI) included the North Bay Business Journal , the Sonoma Index-Tribune , Sonoma magazine and Petaluma Argus Courier . For the purposes of brevity, we will examine the sale from the PD perspective. [Reporter’s Note: NBb reached out to more than a dozen sources for this story. Almost all of them wouldn’t allow their name to be used for fear of reprisal from Alden Global or SMI. Some cited non-disclosure agreements. Others simply feared for their jobs.] The PD's many suitors To fully understand how an independent newspaper went from local ownership to being one of hundreds owned by the second largest owner of newspapers in the country, let’s go back to 2024. At that time Hearst Corp., owner of the San Francisco Chronicle among other publications, was in discussion with SMI and its group of local investors led by managing partner Darius Anderson about acquiring the Press Democrat . Hearst performed almost seven months of due diligence, according to a former PD employee. But the deal fell out of bed for unknown reasons.
The 168-year-old Press Democrat currently operates out of offices at 416 B St. in Santa Rosa. [Photo by Jason Walsh]
24 NorthBaybiz
September 2025
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