Sheldon Adelson behind Review-Journal’s purchase

The Review-Journal reported Wednesday that Adelson had his son-in-law Patrick Dumont broker the deal.

Adelson – one of the richest men in the world and a passionate supporter of Israel – is routinely courted by office-seekers from the White House down, who make the pilgrimage to his business headquarters on the Las Vegas Strip to seek his blessing.

It is not as though Adelson is a political neophyte, or that his Republican leanings would represent a dramatic shift for the Review-Journal, which has long had a conservative editorial page and, critics say, a penchant for allowing those sentiments to bleed into its news coverage.

The high price of the Review-Journal – $38 million more than the paper and a smaller portfolio sold for in March – has led to suspicions that the buyer may have a political agenda, given Nevada’s role as an election swing state near the front of the Republican primary cycle.

But despite widespread calls for Adelson to admit that he bought the paper, he has yet to do so, telling CNN that he had “no personal interest” in purchasing the Review-Journal. The paper, derisively nicknamed “bibiton”, a portmanteau of a nickname of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Hebrew word for newspaper, has been criticized by some as a mouthpiece for the premier, who counts the casino owner as one of his largest political donors. The Review-Journal has a joint operating agreement with The Las Vegas Sun that requires regular meetings between the owners of the two papers, at which the veil will presumably be lifted.

The mystery surrounding the identity of the new owners of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has “officially” been solved.

Newspaper officials have not identified the people behind the company. Wednesday afternoon, 8 News NOW broke the news that Fortune.com was reporting that Adelson was the owner.

Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam.

It was announced last week that the sale of the newspaper to News + Media Capital Group for $140m from New Media Investment Group had been completed, though the identity of the owner of News + Media was not revealed.

News + Media’s manager, Michael Schroeder, said Thursday that he couldn’t immediately provide more information.

The Adelson statement said the paper was purchased through a wholly owned fund as an investment both financially and in the Las Vegas community.

National Public Radio media reporter David Folkenflik on Tuesday tweeted a quote, attributed to Reed, likening News + Media’s anonymous investors to those behind other major media companies and adding “the journalists in those companies don’t seem to be undermined”.

“The Society’s Code of Ethics stresses that those engaged in journalism need to be accountable and transparent”, SPJ Ethics Committee Chairman Andrew Seaman said in a statement.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid in Washington on Tuesday told reporters he suspects – but has no evidence – that Adelson is the secretive buyer.