Journal Editor Out In Surprise Departure

Being the Chairman of Las Vegas Sands, one of the world’s biggest gambling operators, and a staunch supporter of the Republican Party, Sheldon Adelson is no stranger to the USA media scene.

Last week, after days of secrecy and denials, billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his family confirmed that they had purchased the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

For those who consider such sentiments the very embodiment of “the lady doth protest too much” logic that dominates conservative media, the editorial insisted that – unlike the people who now own the paper – the new owners “decided to buy the Review-Journal to help create a better newspaper – a forward thinking newspaper that is worthy of our Las Vegas community”.

Earlier this year, Gonzalez admonished Adelson in court for not answering a routine question about work emails, telling him he could not argue with her.

Hengel came to the Review-Journal in December 2010 after serving as editor and publisher of a Stephens publication, the Pine Bluff Commercial, in Arkansas.

And over the weekend, three Review-Journal reporters wrote that paper employees had been instructed, just weeks before the sale, to “drop everything and spend two weeks monitoring all activity of three Clark County judges”.

A “message from the new owners about the future of the Las Vegas Review-Journal”, due for publication on the front page on Wednesday, also announces Hengel’s departure, along with “other R-J employees”.

But few American newspaper owners have as vocal an agenda as Adelson, a Republican kingmaker known for handing over tens of millions to political campaigns.

The new owners will begin a search for Hengel’s replacement, they said. He declined to comment to The New York Times, but told the newspaper the Las Vegas reporters were “stirring up trouble”.

The owners’ statement was released to AP by Mark Fabiani, a hired communications specialist, in response to messages to Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese. That ended speculation about the identity of the unknown entity that paid $140 million for the Review-Journal.

When asked a week ago if he was the new owner of the Review-Journal, Adelson told CNN he had “no personal interest” in the paper.

Reporters at the Review-Journal posted reactions on Twitter after Hengel addressed the newsroom.

Associated Press writer Sally Ho contributed this report.