Hedge Fund Called ‘Destroyer of Newspapers’ Bids for USA Today Owner Gannett

A group of reporters and editors who left the Denver newspaper raised more than $161,000 on a crowdfunding platform for a new publication, The Colorado Sun, which began publishing online in September under Mr. Ryckman’s leadership.

When word of Alden’s potential pursuit of Gannett began to spread after a report by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday night, journalists used Twitter to denounce the possibility.

“Dear @Gannett: I’ve worked for you for 11 years,” Brett Kelman, a Tennessean reporter, wrote. “We do important journalism in many great communities that depend on us. Through thick and thin, I have loved this job. Please don’t sell to these hedge-fund vampires.”

Others said it was a terrible development.

“Digital First is the worst owner of newspapers in America and they will do their best to draw blood from even Gannett’s already desiccated stone,” wrote Joshua Benton, the director of Nieman Journalism Lab.

Alden declined to comment.

Gannett’s revenue was relatively flat from 2014 to the end of 2017, but its profit shrank in that time to $97 million from over $280 million. The company has also cut its work force sharply, including letting go many newsroom employees, over the past few years. A company overview from the end of 2015 recorded 19,600 employees. By the end of 2017, the figure was 15,300.

MNG did not outline how it planned to manage Gannett.

In its letter, MNG was critical of Gannett’s strategy of buying up digital businesses. It has spent over $300 million acquiring online advertising technologies and services, including ReachLocal and WordStream. MNG asked Gannett to immediately start reviewing strategic alternatives and to commit to a freeze on additional acquisitions of digital businesses, which MNG said Gannett had overpaid for in the past.

MNG added that Gannett should also develop a better strategy for the future before hiring a successor to Robert J. Dickey, the chief executive, who is set to leave in May.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/business/dealbook/gannett-takeover-offer-mng.html?partner=rss&emc=rss