Perhaps foremost among them: Who now owns Nevada's largest newspaper. Answers remain unclear.
That's around $38 million more than New Media Investment Group paid for the all of Stephens Media LLC, a national chain of newspapers that included the Review-Journal, eight other dailies and 65 weekly newspapers. The amount points to investors with deep pockets and a perhaps even deeper desire to own Nevada's biggest newspaper even though the paper's revenues, like those of all print publications, have been in decline.
News + Media manager Michael Schroeder has declined to disclose the company's investors, as has Las Vegas Review-Journal Publisher Jason Taylor.
In discussions with employees, Taylor has said only that News + Media has multiple owner/investors, that some are from Las Vegas, and that in face-to-face meetings he has been assured that the group will not meddle in the newspaper's editorial content.
A trio of media watchdogs contacted by the Review-Journal expressed concern over the newspaper's shadowy new owners.
"One of the first thoughts I had was: Nevada is an early primary state. The Review-Journal is the largest newspaper in the state. Was it sold to a player in that event, or people who want to be players?," asked media critic and New York University professor Jay Rosen. "That slightly conspiratorial thought may be way off base. Of course, there is no way to know as long as the ownership remains hidden. That's the point."
Last night something strange came across my screen. I think it qualifies as a mystery. News that the Las Vegas...
Posted by Jay Rosen on Friday, December 11, 2015
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