Alden Global Capital has launched a hostile takeover of Lee Enterprises, owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Southern Illinoisan and other newspapers.
The United Media Guild appreciates Lee Enterprises’ ongoing commitment to local journalism and its watchdog role. The UMG has applauded the company’s efforts to keep its newspaper properties out of the hand of hedge fund operators who want to strip them down and diminish their news-gathering ability.
So the UMG hopes that Lee Enterprises can thwart the takeover bid by Alden and allow the Post-Dispatch, the Southern Illinoisan and other newspapers to continue serving their communities with distinction. The UMG will work with other Guild locals and the NewsGuild-CWA to assist in this effort.
Alden said Monday that its offer for Lee is a “reaffirmation of our substantial commitment to the newspaper industry and our desire to support local newspapers over the long term.”
But Alden’s cost cutting at papers like the Denver Post, the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel has taken a heavy toll on the ability of those news operations to effectively report on their community.