News

Tribune Blues

An Alden purchase of all of Tribune doesn’t have to be a fait accompli. In fact, the threat of such a deal represents an opportunity for civic-minded local investors across the country, who could use this case to not only save a critical local news institution, but to reinvent it.

Union Seeks Removal of Alden Members From Tribune Board in Wake of Buyout Offer

The hedge fund has a reputation for making deep cost cuts at titles it acquires, which has triggered employee efforts at several Tribune papers to find local buyers to take over the publications individually, since Alden began amassing its stake in the company in late 2019

Hedge fund Alden looks to buy Tribune Publishing and go private in deal valuing newspaper chain at $520 million

“They fashion short-term business plans that cut newsrooms to the bone — destroying the watchdogs of our democracy,” Schleuss said. “Our thousands of members will continue to fight hedge fund ownership of local news.”

Alden Global Seeks to Buy Tribune Publishing

A hedge fund that owns a big stake in Tribune Publishing Co. is seeking to buy the newspaper chain behind titles including the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News.

U.S. Congress agrees to expand payroll assistance to local news outlets

Congressional leaders said on Sunday that lawmakers agreed to expand forgivable government loans to additional struggling local news outlets as part of a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill.

The enduring lessons of a New Deal writers project

Kipen started lobbying for a new Writers’ Project in opinion columns and letters to lawmakers. One US congressman—Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat—wrote back to Kipen expressing interest in the idea, and now hopes to introduce a bill in the next Congress.

Relief bill could save thousands of local news jobs

The relief bill in front of Congress includes a NewsGuild-supported provision that will expand Paycheck Protection Program loans to local newsrooms across the country. “Local news is facing an extinction-level event and this is an important step to help stem the layoffs and closures of newsrooms across the country,” NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss said Monday.

A contentious local election revealed an information gap. High school reporters stepped up to fill it.

After an ex-journalist moved back to his hometown and found that the local paper had closed, he created his own, staffing it mostly with teenagers.