Extra! Extra! Press Democrat Local investors hand over community newspapers to New York hedge-fund
T he Santa Rosa Press Democrat in May was sold to MediaNews Group, the company which also has a majority stake in the San Rafael-based Marin Independent Journal , another North Bay-focused daily newspaper located less than 40 miles away. The new parent corporation for both publications has a reputation for buying up regional newspapers and quickly cutting costs through consolidation of resources and eliminating positions. As part of the deal, MediaNews Group acquired the print and digital portfolio of Sonoma Media Investments, the Press Democrat’s former parent company, which also includes Sonoma magazine, the Sonoma Index-Tribune , the Petaluma Argus-Courier, the Sonoma County Gazette and the North Bay Business Journal . Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though earlier reports suggested SMI was seeking a buyer in the low-eight-figure range. According to the company’s website, MediaNews Group’s network publishes 77 daily and more than 150 weekly publications throughout the United States. Its publications include the Chicago Tribune , the Denver Post , the San Jose Mercury News , the Orange County Register, the Boston Herald and the San Diego Union-Tribune . Established in 2012, Sonoma Media Investments had been led by Managing Partner Darius Anderson, a real estate developer and lobbyist. 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. In a media statement about the sale, SMI majority owner Anderson stressed his belief that an independent press is “vital to our North Bay community.” “We believe that the newspaper, its staff and most importantly the public will be best served under the stewardship of MediaNews Group, with the newspaper By Jason Walsh
expertise and financial resources necessary to carry on our mission of delivering the highest-caliber local journalism for future North Bay generations,” said Anderson. MediaNews Group is a subsidiary of Alden Global Capital, a New York-based hedge fund known for buying up newspapers, slashing budgets and gutting staff. The Press Democrat will be MediaNews Group’s second connection to a daily newspaper in the North Bay. The Marin Independent Journal is published by the California Newspaper Partnership, whose majority owner is MediaNews Group. Frank Pine, executive editor of MediaNews Group, said in the media statement he was honored to bring the PD into the MediaNews portfolio. “We appreciate the importance of local news and information to the communities where we publish and are proud to expand our commitment to Northern California in the North Bay,” Pine said. A potential sale of the PD has been whispered about for months; earlier reports connected it to a deal being worked out with the Hearst Corp., which publishes the San Francisco Chronicle. If a sale of the PD to Hearst seemed at least somewhat palatable to members of the Santa Rosa newsroom, the May 1 announcement of the MediaNews acquisition was met with complete dismay. “Stunned” was how PD reporter Phil Barber described it to KQED. A former sports editor of the IJ , commenting on Facebook, predicted: “Here comes the North Bay Journal when the IJ and PD merge. Think East Bay Times and the six papers that were consolidated [when acquired by Alden Global Capital].” The new ownership’s attempts to trim overhead at the PD started almost immediately. On May 13, newsroom staffs at the Press Democrat and its affiliated publications received an email from MediaNews offering buyouts, as part of a “voluntary separation plan.” The offer for full-time employees included a week’s pay for each year of employment, maxing out at 15 weeks. Employees were given to May 23 to decide.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat was founded in 1897 by the merger of the Evening Press and Sonoma Democrat.
18 NorthBaybiz
June 2025
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