 | |
| Digital First Media | |
| Company type | Private |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | |
| Owner | Alden Global Capital |
Number of employees | 10,000+ |
| Website | Official website  |
MNG Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado, United States-based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. As of May 2021, it owns over 100 newspapers and 200 assorted other publications. [3] [4]
MediaNews Group was founded by Richard Scudder and William Dean Singleton. Both had experience in the American newspaper industry. Scudder ran the Newark (New Jersey) News, a newspaper founded by his grandfather. [5] Singleton had begun his career as a reporter when he was 15, for a small-town Texas newspaper and subsequently became the president of Albritton Communications, a newspaper conglomerate in Texas. [6]
Based in Denver, Colorado, Scudder and Singleton purchased their first newspaper in 1983. They incorporated MediaNews Group in 1985, with Singleton as CEO and Scudder as chairman. [7] The company began to purchase small local newspapers that were undergoing financial troubles. In 1987, the company made its first major acquisition: the Denver Post. Ultimately, it became one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States. It operated 56 daily newspapers in 12 states, with combined daily and Sunday circulation of about 2.4 million and 2.7 million, respectively. [8] [9] The company owned KTVA, a CBS affiliate in Anchorage, Alaska, from March 2000 to October 2012, and radio stations in Texas.
Singleton was a pioneer in "clustering": cutting jobs at individual newspapers and consolidating functions at a hub near a cluster of newspapers. For example, the Alameda Newspaper Group in suburban San Francisco in the mid-1990s had a central newsroom in Pleasanton, California, that did all the copy editing, layout and page makeup for five daily papers. [10] Upon acquiring the diverse group of papers, Singleton consolidated several news sections (such as sports and features) to one local office away from the metropolitan area, having a few reporters do the job of many people.
Singleton soon earned the nickname "Lean Dean" for his slashing of jobs through clustering. His tight-fisted methods were later adopted as the preferred model by Alden Global Capital and other hedge funds that took over near-bankrupt newspaper companies.
In August 2006, Singleton took out around $350 million in loans to purchase four newspapers from McClatchy Company. Among those providing the loan was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. [11] It came out of bankruptcy in March 2010 under the majority ownership of its lenders. [12] The MediaNews creditors then removed Media News president Jody Lodovic and its chairman, William Dean Singleton, was reassigned to the position of "executive chairman of the board." The Singleton-Lodovic appointees to the MediaNews board were replaced by new directors representing the stockholders group led by Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund firm which has acquired a large, though not controlling, stake. Several interim executive positions were also filled by people related to Alden or its parent, Smith Management LLC. [13] MediaNews became managed by Journal Register's Digital First Media. [14]
As of 2012, the combined newspapers and online media outlets managed by the company had 66.6 million readers. [15] In 2017, the company was ranked third-largest among the newspaper groups in the country. [16] Alden Global Capital has been accused of "strip mining" its newspaper holdings. [17] [18] [19] [ better source needed ] In October 2017, the company's CEO, Steve Rossi, stepped down from his position. [16] In February 2018, Digital First Media put in a $11.9 million winning bid to purchase the Boston Herald. [20]
In March 2016, a bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Freedom Communications and its two major newspapers, the Orange County Register and the Riverside Press-Enterprise to Digital First Media. The papers were integrated into Digital First Media's Los Angeles Newspaper Group, which was renamed the Southern California News Group on the same day. [21] [22]
In November 2018, Digital First Media announced plans to lay off 107 staff from its Colorado Springs, Colorado financial services operations, as it outsources the work to Genpact starting December 28. [23] [24]
In January 2019, Digital First Media acquired 7.5% of Gannett's public stock, [25] and made an unsolicited bid to acquire Gannett for $1.36 billion. On February 4, 2019 Gannett's board "unanimously rejected" the offer, [26] saying "that MNG does not have a realistic plan to acquire Gannett". [27] On February 11, 2019, Gannett issued a press release accusing Digital First Media of engaging in a proxy fight. [28] After a failed attempt to place 3 nominees on Gannett's board of directors through a proxy vote on May 16, 2019, DFM reduced their stake to 4.2%. [29] In August 2019, GateHouse Media ultimately announced its intent to acquire Gannett instead. [30]
On February 5, 2020, Digital First Media purchased the assets of Minnesota-based Red Wing Publishing/Big Fish Works. The sale included the Hutchinson Leader, the Litchfield Independent Review, the International Falls Journal, the Lakeshore Weekly News, the Chanhassen Villager, Chaska Herald, Eden Prairie News, Jordan Independent, Shakopee Valley News, Prior Lake American and the Savage Pacer. [31]
In April 2020, two of Minneapolis' west metro newspapers—The Eden Prairie News and Lakeshore Weekly News bought earlier in 2020 by Digital First Media—announced their closure at the end of April 2020 due to a decline in advertising revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. [32] [33]
On May 25, 2021, Alden Global Capital acquired Tribune Publishing. With its combined holdings, Alden became the second-largest owner of newspapers in the United States in terms of subscribers, behind only Gannett. [34] [35]
On July 10, 2023, Digital First Media acquired The San Diego Union-Tribune for an undisclosed sum. [36] That August, the company acquired The Scranton Times-Tribune and three other daily newspapers from Times-Shamrock Communications. The sale included weekly and periodic newspapers and commercial printing operations—Absolute Distribution Inc. and Times-Shamrock Creative Services. [37]
In April 2024, Southwest News Media, owned by Digital First Media, announced it's weekly newspapers would cease before the end of the month, including: Chaska Herald, Chanhassen Villager, Jordan Independent, the Shakopee Valley News, Prior Lake American and Savage Pacer. Crow River Media, another subsidiary, announced The Hutchinson Leader and Litchfield Independent Review will also close along with it's affiliate printing plant. [38] [39]
Listed alphabetically by name, daily newspapers owned by MediaNews include the following: [40]
Some of the weeklies owned by the company: [40]
Other MediaNews properties include:
MediaNews Group is known as a cost-cutter in the newspaper publishing industry. The company has a reputation for buying smaller daily newspapers in a single area (examples include Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area) and consolidating their operations, including sharing staff writers and printing facilities. Some former employees say that the newspapers are focused on making a profit to the detriment of good journalism. [43]
William Dean Singleton was quick to point out MediaNews' commitment to print journalism but resisted efforts to develop online web sites for his newspapers, believing print would remain the format favored by readers. The Berkshire Eagle editor David E. Scribner, two years after MediaNews bought his newspaper, said the staff realized Singleton had miscalculated the impact of the internet and attributed the downward spiral of his media properties to his short-sightedness. [44]
In recent years similar criticism has been aimed at the new organizational structure under Digital First Media. The Denver Post editorial staff and others have criticized the owners of hedge fund group, Alden Global Capital. Alden has a reputation for cutting costs by reducing the number of journalists working on its newspapers as Singleton had done and March 2018, The Washington Post called Alden "one of the most ruthless of the corporate strip-miners seemingly intent on destroying local journalism." [45] [46] Alden has additionally received critical coverage from its editorial staff of the Denver Post and described Alden Global Capital as "vulture capitalists" after multiple staff layoffs. [47]
The company has been criticized for investing its employee pensions in funds managed by its parent company, Alden Global Capital. [4]
The Southern California News Group (SCNG), formerly the San Gabriel Valley News Group and the Los Angeles News Group, is an umbrella group of local daily newspapers published in the greater Los Angeles area of southern California by Digital First Media, which is owned by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
The Pasadena Star-News is a paid local daily newspaper for the greater Pasadena, California area. The Pasadena Star-News is a member of Southern California News Group, since 1996. It is also part of the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, along with the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and the Whittier Daily News.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and Anoka County, Minnesota. The paper's main rival is the Star Tribune, based in neighboring Minneapolis. The Pioneer Press is owned by MediaNews Group, controlled by Alden Global Capital. It no longer includes "St. Paul" as part of its name in either its print or online edition, but its owner still lists the paper's name as the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the paper also calls itself the St. Paul Pioneer Press on its Facebook and Twitter pages. Its URL and digital presence is TwinCities.com.
The Sun Sentinel is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, and covers Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties and state-wide news, as well. It is the 4th largest-circulation newspaper in Florida. Paul Pham has held the position of general manager since November 2020, and Julie Anderson has held the position of editor-in-chief since February 2018.
The Denver Post is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 million page views, according to comScore.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by Media News Group, which is controlled by Alden Global Capital.
The Oklahoman is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media lists it as the 59th largest U.S. newspaper in circulation.
The Daily Breeze is a 57,000-circulation daily newspaper published in Hermosa Beach, California, United States. It serves the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor".
William Dean Singleton is an American newspaper executive. He is the founder and executive board chairman of MediaNews Group, the fourth-largest newspaper company in the United States in terms of circulation, with 53 daily papers totaling 2.7 million subscriptions daily and 3 million on Sunday. He is also a former chairman of the board of directors of the Associated Press. He has been publisher of a number of MediaNews' dailies, including the Denver Post, the Salt Lake Tribune, and the Detroit News. He is a cattle rancher, owning several ranches.
The Virginian-Pilot is the daily newspaper for Hampton Roads, Virginia United States. Commonly known as The Pilot, it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina. It was a locally owned, family enterprise from its founding in 1865 at the close of the American Civil War until its sale to Tribune Publishing in 2018. Its headquarters is in Newport News, and prior to 2020 was in Norfolk.
The Whittier Daily News is a paid local daily newspaper for Whittier, California, United States. Coverage area includes Whittier, South Whittier, Pico Rivera, La Habra Heights, Santa Fe Springs and La Mirada.
Tribune Publishing Company is an American newspaper print and online media publishing company. The company, which was acquired by Alden Global Capital in May 2021, has a portfolio that includes the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, the Orlando Sentinel, South Florida's Sun-Sentinel, The Virginian-Pilot, the Hartford Courant, additional titles in Pennsylvania and Virginia, syndication operations, and websites. It also publishes several local newspapers in its metropolitan regions, which are organized in subsidiary groups.
Swift Communications Inc. is an American digital marketing and newspaper publishing company based in Carson City, Nevada. Swift's primary markets are resort town tabloid newspapers and websites as well as agricultural publications. Swift Communications has been noted for "being outside of the mainstream" and "drawing national attention inside the industry" for disabling commenting and implementing paywalls on most of its online newspaper's websites. Many of Swift's newspapers are heavily composed of paid advertorial "sponsored content".
The Marin Independent Journal is the main newspaper of Marin County, California. The paper is owned by California Newspapers Partnership, which is in turn mostly owned by MediaNews Group.
The San Bernardino Sun is a paid daily newspaper in San Bernardino County. Founded in 1894, it has significant circulation in neighboring Riverside County, and serves most of the Inland Empire in Southern California, with a circulation area spanning from the border of Los Angeles and Orange counties to the west, east to Yucaipa, north to the San Bernardino Mountain range and south to the Riverside County line. Its local competitor is The Press-Enterprise in Riverside. It publishes the annual PrepXtra high school football magazine with capsules and schedules for all schools in Pomona and San Bernardino valleys.
Prairie Mountain Media is an American publishing company owned by Digital First Media. It owns a series of newspapers most notably The Denver Post. Digital First Media is owned by Alden Global Capital which has sharply cut costs by reducing the number of journalists working on many of its newspapers.
The Longmont Daily Times-Call, known under different combinations of these names, is a daily newspaper published for Longmont, Colorado, United States. It carries local, regional, national and world news and republishes most of its stories from sister publications owned by its parent company. It is part of the MediaNews Group, owned by Digital First Media, which is owned by Alden Global Capital out of New York City. Editorial offices are no longer in Longmont, and in 2017 are located in the Daily Camera offices at 2500 55th St. Suite 210, Boulder, CO 80301.
California Newspapers Partnership is a publisher of more than two dozen daily newspapers and several weekly newspapers in the United States state of California. The partnership is managed as a subsidiary of MediaNews Group, its majority owner. The minority partner is Stephens Media, with roughly a one-quarter ownership stake.
Alden Global Capital is a hedge fund based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 2007 by Randall D. Smith. Its managing director is Heath Freeman. By mid-2020, Alden had stakes in roughly two hundred American newspapers. The company added more newspapers to its portfolio in May 2021 when it purchased Tribune Publishing and became the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States.
The Colorado Sun is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It launched on September 10, 2018, to provide long-form, in-depth coverage of news from all around Colorado. It was started with two years of funding from blockchain venture capitalists at Civil and from a Kickstarter campaign. The operation is now funded by reader support, through memberships, and from sponsorship and grant revenue. The Sun is an associate member of the Associated Press.