Adelson family confirms ownership of Las Vegas newspaper

On Wednesday, after days of relentless focus on determining the new owner, some journalists at The Review-Journal returned to their beats, although much of the paper’s own reporting on the matter remains unpublished, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

“Several watchdog journalists and integrity groups like the Society of Professional Journalists have rightly called for the new owners to be transparent and reveal their identities or risk having the quality and value of the information they provide rightly questioned by readers and employees”, said Titus.

In its statement, the Adelson family said it purchased the Review-Journal through a “wholly-owned fund, as both a financial investment as well as an investment in the future of the Las Vegas community”.

The Adelsons say they had meant to announce their ownership but held back because Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate was taking place at the Venetian, the casino-hotel on the Las Vegas Strip that’s part of Adelson’s empire.

A call to the newspaper’s publisher, Jason Taylor-who apparently knows for certain who his new secret boss is-was not returned. “Whoever it is needs to come out and say, ‘I own the paper.’ And if it’s not Mr. Adelson, he ought to come out and say, ‘I don’t own the paper'”.

A longtime Review-Journal staffer-who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his job-said Adelson’s ownership, if confirmed, would likely prompt awkward issues concerning the paper’s political coverage and especially its aggressive coverage of the gaming industry, including Adelson’s rival casino magnate, Steve Wynn. He spent more on the 2012 federal elections than any other donor – giving an estimated $93 million to mostly Republican candidates and super PACS.

At the time, buyer was known only as the News + Media Capital Group, a Delaware-based corporation that listed CT newspaper executive Michael Schroeder as “manager”. “There are hundreds of local daily papers”, he said.

Following reports the buyer might be Adelson, the billionaire told CNN he had “no personal interest” in the newspaper.

Newspaper officials have not publically identified those behind the new company. The publisher has said that the new owners won’t be involved in news and editorial decisions.

Wednesday night, the newspaper cited anonymous sources as saying that the son-in-law of billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson arranged the $140 million purchase on Adelson’s behalf.

Greenspun says the papers will have some political differences, “but that just makes for good reading”. The paper reported that Schroeder had worked with another man who now runs a news service that distributes content from one of the newspapers that Adelson owns in Israel. New Media Investment Group didn’t respond to requests for comment. He hasn’t previously expressed interest in most American newspapers, sources told the Wall Street Journal, though the Review-Journal “has long piqued his interest”.