Who bought the Las Vegas Review-Journal? It’s anybody’s guess

The journalistic community is in a frenzy to determine who is behind the company that purchased the Las Vegas Review Journal less than a week ago, not the least of whom are reporters that work for the Las Vegas newspaper.

CNN, the New York Times, the LA Times, and several other major media outlets have speculated that Las Vegas and Macau billionaire Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.is behind maneuver.

The speculation reached to Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who tweeted Monday that the only question left unanswered from his meeting with the paper’s editorial board was: “Who owns the newspaper?”

New Media Investment Group purchased the paper in March from Stephens Media LLC for $102.5 million among a much larger sale of eight newspapers and 65 weekly papers across seven states. The problem is, nobody knows who actually owns that company. The description is odd, since most individuals who have invested in news organizations previously would be aware that refusing to say who owned the paper would do nothing but stir controversy, especially within the paper’s own staff. “From a readership standpoint, I would want to know who is behind the paper”.

He said he doesn’t expect them to be involved in news or editorial decisions because Gatehouse Media LLC, a subsidiary of the previous owner, will keep running the publication, which has a Sunday circulation of 184,000. According to the Huffington Post, a version of the story detailing the paper’s sale went to press with a quote that suggested that Schroeder was dismissive of employee concerns about the new ownership.

A number of R-J reporters have taken to Twitter to cite the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, which has a section about being accountable and transparent.

The nondisclosure is even more troubling because of the influential role that Nevada holds in the upcoming 2016 presidential election.

A representative for Adelson didn’t respond to requests seeking comment. Harry Reid might have given a clue when he said: We have a few rich people in Las Vegas, one of whom is well known, so we’ll see. The mystery has also kicked off a new parlor game in the newspaper business.

At the core of the matter is whether reporters for the LVRJ can disclose conflicts of interest if they are reporting on matters that involve investors in the company that signs their paychecks.

David Folkenflik, media correspondent at NPR, tweeted Tuesday that the involvement with the Sun may trigger a Department of Justice investigation because of the federally sanctioned joint-operating agreement that the Review-Journal has with the Sun.

The continued secrecy has, not surprisingly, not been popular with journalists, both in the Review-Journal newsroom and beyond. “Donald Trump puts his name on everything for a reason”.