Vegas newspaper seller defends Adelson buy

Staffers of Nevada’s largest daily and journalism sleuths elsewhere have been digging to try and find out who shelled out $140 million for the newspaper earlier this week, with circumstantial evidence and reports piling up that casino magnate and political mega-donor Sheldon Adelson is behind the purchase. “The Review-Journal owners want to remain secret, a choice that is faithless to the public trust and the talented journalists that work every day to provide an accurate, impartial news report for the community they serve”. The timing of the deal and the purchase price led to much speculation and even a presidential candidate weighed in.

Ken Doctor crunched the numbers and said the previous owner effectively flipped the newspaper for a profit.

The paper was sold last week for $140 million to a newly-formed, Delaware-registered company whose backers were not publicly revealed, drawing criticism in the media world including the paper’s staff. At the time, the new owners were not identified, which caused widespread concern in the Review-Journal newsroom.

Today, the Review-Journal published its own front-page article highlighting the outrage in journalism circles over the mysterious sale-there are no other newspapers of any significance in the United States whose owners are not known-as well as clues that Schroeder has links to Adelson. “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'”. One editor in a position to know said that the newspaper canceled its subscription to The Associated Press this year – unheard of for a large metro daily – and that it did so to make its books look better in anticipation of the sale. The state will be the third in the nation to hold a Democratic primary (Feb. 20) and the fourth for Republicans (Feb. 23), giving it a pivotal role.

Fortune’s report relies on “multiple sources familiar with the situation” who said the buyer was Adelson. The publisher has said that the new owners won’t be involved in news and editorial decisions.

In its statement, the Adelson family explained its initial secrecy and also seemed to address questions about what the purchase would mean for the paper’s editorial independence.

The Review-Journal confirmed when reporting on the acquisition that News + Media is a newly-formed company based in DE and is managed by Michael Schroeder, CEO of Central Connecticut Publishing.

Media watchdogs will be looking to see if Adelson’s purchase affects the paper’s political coverage – or the coverage of the city’s casino industry, where Las Vegas Sands is one of the biggest players.

In the last presidential campaign, he and his wife, Miriam, spent about $100 million and the couple are expected to generously help whomever they endorse for president in 2016.

“We hope whoever bought it will allow journalists to produce journalism that is ethical, responsible, and thorough”, said Seaman.