Vegas newspaper owners in damage control mode
Source: USA Today
The owners of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are in damage control mode after an acquisition by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson that has triggered a bizarre apology from a top executive, the resignation of the newspaper's top editor and sagging morale among dismayed staffers worried about their editorial independence. Michael Schroeder — who was the only publicly named manager of News + Media Capital Group when it bought the Review-Journal on Dec. 11 for $140 million — is no longer involved with the newspaper. Mark Fabiani, who handles public relations for Adelson, said Schroeder was an adviser for the transaction and not an employee of News + Media.
Schroeder also issued an apology Tuesday for penning a story — in another newspaper that Schroeder owns in Connecticut — that opined in favor of Adelson’s business interests. In a note to readers Tuesday in The Bristol Press, Schroeder admitted that his reporting “did not meet (its) standards” and “pieces of the article were taken from related Internet sites and were not credited.” He also admitted that the story’s byline — Edward Clarkin — was a pseudonym, a revelation that comes after several news outlets have published stories strongly suggesting that Schroeder himself had written the story.
Schroeder’s presence in the RJ newsroom has been a source of much consternation among staffers. He had refused to identify who financed and created News + Media to buy the Review-Journal until the Review-Journal and Forbes began to connect the dots and eventually named Adelson as the controlling owner. Schroeder told the staffers not to worry about who owned their newspaper and concentrate on their work.
That Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., one of the state's most powerful figures and a major Republican donor, bought Nevada's largest newspaper in such a clandestine manner provoked criticism from staffers, local leaders and media ethicists who fear that Adelson will use his new platform to push his agenda.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/01/05/vegas-paper-owners-damage-control-mode/78316594/
"local leaders and media ethicists who fear that Adelson will use his new platform to push his agenda."
Oh ya think?? Just one of a few last nails in the coffin of the fourth estate.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Of course he will...why else buy the paper?
