Editor of Las Vegas newspaper quits after Adelson takes over

Mike Hengel, the top editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is stepping aside, less than two weeks after the family of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson took control of the newspaper.

The Review-Journal notes that Hengel said he was accepting a buyout, that his decision to leave was “mutual”, and that he didn’t think it was a forced exit.

In a statement to VF.com, Mark Fabiani, who represents the Review-Journal’s new owners, emphasized that a buyout had been offered to certain employees before the identity of the new owners had been known, and that Hengel had accepted his buyout on December 11-the day after the Review-Journal learned of its new ownership, and the day that it published its first story questioning their motives.

The publisher of the CT paper is Michael Schroeder, who also happens to be the manager of a DE company formed to facilitate the purchase of the Review-Journal for the Adelsons. On social media, some of the newspaper’s staff have said they are stunned to see Hengel go.

Earlier this month, the Las Vegas Review-Journal was purchased under mysterious circumstances.

In the statement on Tuesday, Adelson pledged to invest in the Review-Journal, and publish a “fair, unbiased and accurate” newspaper.

Hengel and Publisher Jason Taylor both were not immediately available for replying any questions.

Schroeder did not return phone calls and emails from the AP.

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 U.S. media scene. He declined to comment to The New York Times, but told the newspaper the Las Vegas reporters were “stirring up trouble”.

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. That ended speculation about the identity of the unknown entity that paid $140 million for the Review-Journal.

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

“It shows they are not afraid to stand up to the people who sign their paychecks, which is very admirable and lives up to the SPJ code of ethics”, Seaman said.