These days Alden prefers to be known as a private investment firm. In the past, it was referred to as a hedge fund. Like all things hedge fund, ownership is a lesson in hide and seek. Smith Management LLC owns Alden Global. In turn, Alden owns MediaNews Group. MediaNews Group owns the Bay Area News Group and Southern California Newspaper Group. Then there is Tribune Publishing, California Newspaper Partnership and Digital First Media. Among the newspapers owned by Alden’s MediaNews are the Denver Post, Boston Herald, Orange County Register , the Chicago Tribune , and the San Jose Mercury News . Local properties owned by MediaNews include the Marin Independent Journal and the East Bay Times . The investment firm created a company called Twenty Lake Holdings to manage and, in some cases, dispose of real estate gained in the acquisitions of publications—everything from office buildings to printing facilities. To say that Alden and MediaNews are viewed with distrust and animosity in the journalism community is to drastically understate the case. The criticism dished toward Alden is an excursion into the most colorful descriptions. A simple web search will show the hedge fund described in the media as “vulture capitalists,” “the most reviled newspaper owner in the business,” “predatory,” “secretive,” an “archvillain,” “a destroyer of newspapers” and, as Vanity Fair put it, “the grim reaper of American newspapers.” [Reporter’s Note: I’ve spent more time than I care to admit dealing with private investment firms as a financial journalist. And, to be fair, secrecy and discretion are how the private investment world operates. The investment titans that own these entities pride themselves on being first into markets and first out. The old line about being the smartest guys in the room was likely written by a hedge funder as he gazed into a mirror thinking how much he liked what he saw. It’s very much a “boys club” overrun with testosterone and ego.] For its part, here’s how MediaNews describes its focus on the company’s website: “We are proud of our long history of community service, providing essential news to our readers for more than 175 years. We believe that a free press is fundamental to a healthy democracy, and we are committed to building a sustainable future for our journalism.” NorthBay biz also reached out to representatives at Alden Global Capital to get its side of how the Press Democrat and its various publications joined the Alden portfolio. But Alden didn’t respond. Investors kept in the dark Gary Nelson is a successful North Bay businessman, having founded staffing stalwart Nelson Connects more than 50 years ago—and he is a known active member in the community. He also held about 15% of the equity in Sonoma Media Investments LLC as a limited partner. So imagine Nelson’s surprise when he learned from a casual conversation around town that the Press Democrat was being sold. The surprise continued when the sale price of $10 million was revealed and the transaction was to a New York investor. While the deal was a revelation, the fact that a local group offered more money—and was ignored—was a shock. Especially since Nelson had invested in SMI to keep the Press Democrat in local hands. In an interview with NorthBay biz , Nelson said that, as a limited partner with SMI, the investment entity had no legal requirement
to share information about the deal with him. And, as far as he knew, the other limited partners had been kept in the dark about the sale as well. Those local investors in SMI included former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill, former Dolby Sound CEO Bill Jasper, former Congressman Doug Bosco, retired Intel executive Les Vadasz, and Jean Schulz, wife of the late Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. Nelson said he was paid $1.5 million for his 15% of SMI. Nelson also said he didn’t know what would become of the Press Democrat under its new ownership, and he preferred not to speculate. Nelson’s not being informed he was getting cashed out may have been legal, but a former PD exec questioned Anderson’s approach to those who invested alongside him in 2012. “There is your legal responsibility, and then there is your moral obligation, doing the right thing. But ask around, that’s how he [Anderson] operates.” Information gathered from a number of sources familiar with the deal point toward Anderson making decisions about the transaction mostly on his own or, at the very least, not sharing information with his limited partners nor anyone at the newspaper. Michael Fitzgerald, a former journalism professor at Sacramento State University and former editor at both the Chico Enterprise- Record and the Oroville Mercury Register (both papers are owned by Alden), offered his opinion on what the sale is likely to mean to the Press Democrat and the community. “The destruction of so many newspapers under Alden's management has been a tragedy for community journalism across the country,” Fitzgerald told NBb . “It's a tragedy for democracy not to have honest newspapers and journalists providing the kind of day-to-day coverage that knits communities together and keeps politicians from letting their worst instincts run wild.” The story of the Press Democrat The PD was first published as the Santa Rosa Democrat in 1857; it was Sonoma County’s first newspaper. The paper was sold and merged a number of times throughout its first century, but always remained under local ownership. In 1985, however, the newspaper was sold to the New York Times , which invested in a new printing facility in Rohnert Park. The Gray Lady offered the staff more resources—and coverage of both local and regional subjects reflected the new ownership. But in 2012, the Times sold the PD to Halifax Media Holdings, a Florida-based company. The Halifax ownership lasted less than a year. A local group of investors, formed by Anderson under the Sonoma Media Investments LLC (SMI), purchased the Press Democrat with the intention of keeping the news outlet under local ownership. In 2018, the newspaper received a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on the tragic North Bay fires. The Pulitzer meant a lot to the newspaper and its staff—a triumph at a time when the newspaper universe was continuing to shrink, and independent locally owned papers were becoming rare. The Press Democrat wasn’t owned by a conglomerate or chain. Rather it was independent, it had supportive ownership that had the good sense to stand back and let the publication perform. In turn, the PD had staff of long standing, reflecting both a larger pool of developed talent and a desire by staffers to stick around. The Press Democrat punched above its weight in terms of coverage and has both supporters and detractors in the community.
September 2025
NorthBaybiz 27
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