source at that publication, the picture they paint is not pretty. “We really are down to a skeleton crew. And when someone is out or on vacation, it gets even harder. Raises are pretty much non-existent. There are janitors at the [Marin] Civic Center making more than I do. The morale is so low, they have trouble recruiting if someone leaves. We thought [previous owner] Gannett was bad, but Alden is worse.” The PD ’s prospects going forward under Alden ownership are not promising. A study at the University of North Carolina showed that Alden cuts staffing levels at twice the rate of the rest of the industry. The environment for the media in recent years—especially since media adversary Donald Trump’s first term—has been toxic. While some of the issues were media creations, the low regard and hostility directed at the press by both those in office and internet keyboard warriors is unprecedented. Media outlets which are independent, as the Press Democrat was under SMI, have more freedom to deal with those issues in swift and creative ways. On the other hand, given Alden’s reputation as an investment entity worried about profits above the bottom line rather than what’s running above the fold, the PD staff is likely to run into more and not less pushback as a so-called “enemy of the people.” The pursuit and purchase of the PD hasn’t slowed Alden even a step. It’s currently chasing the Dallas Morning News in Texas. While rebuffed on at least two occasions, its response is to throw more money at the publication. Ironically, Hearst is also courting the Dallas newspaper. In the end, without Anderson responding to NBb ’s questions about the deal, no one can say for sure why Alden won the sale
and why Anderson left a local offer worth at least $2 million more on the table. Anderson and Gallaher have been on opposite sides of some local issues. For instance, Gallaher led a public fight against the SMART train, and Anderson’s Platinum Advisors had a $600,000 lobbying contract with the public agency. [Whether those opposite positions had any bearing on SMI selling to Alden instead of Gallaher’s local group is pure speculation and only offered to demonstrate that the deal didn’t operate in a vacuum.] What is not speculation is the likely path for the Press Democrat . More staff will leave, either by choice, buyouts or firings. The paper’s resources will be reduced. The coverage of local issues will suffer in the long term. Local advertisers may elect to abandon the paper based on those impacts. What’s more, public confidence in the local newspaper will suffer—not because the staff isn’t trying, but because there are fewer reporters and editors. And it isn’t like the media is being bathed in the warmth of public love these days anyway. This story started with an old quote about newspapers from a bygone era. Here’s a more recent one from Richard Kluger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist: “Every time a newspaper dies, even a bad one, the country moves a little closer to authoritarianism.” If that quote doesn’t resonate, you aren’t paying attention. g
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