Commentary

'Las Vegas Review-Journal' Editor Wants To Know Who's In Charge

Usually it’s not too hard to figure out who your boss is: just locate the corner office and if you see someone leaving early with golf clubs, bingo! However, things aren’t that simple for employees of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, recently acquired by a person or persons who wish to remain anonymous.

Last week, the assets of LVRJ parent company Stephens Media were acquired from previous owner New Media Investment Group by the News + Media Capital Group, an LLC representing unknown financial backers, for $140 million. The deal covered the LVRJ, as well as a number of other smaller newspapers in Nevada.

News + Media, managed by Michael Schroeder, also owns four newspapers through Central Connecticut Publishing.

Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of mystery owners.

In an article about the deal published by the LVRJ last week, editor Michael Hengel was quoted as saying, “The questions that were not answered Thursday are 1.) Who is behind the new company? and 2) What are their expectations?”

This quote was later removed from the online version of the story, suggesting someone was not happy the subject was receiving so much attention. 

This is just the latest controversy in the contentious Las Vegas newspaper scene.

Separately, the LVRJ has been embroiled in a series of disputes with its joint operating agreement partner, the Las Vegas Sun (which appears as an insert in the LVRJ) over the terms of the JOA and their profit-sharing arrangements.

Back in 2013. previous LVRJ owner Stephens Media petitioned to have the JOA dissolved -- a move resisted by Sun owner Brian Greenspun, putting him at odds with his own siblings, who’d agreed to dissolve the JOA. Greenspun subsequently bought out his siblings’ stakes in the Sun.

The JOA remains in place, but the newspapers are now locked in a legal battle over the division of profits.

Earlier this year, Greenspun Media Group sued the LVRJ, alleging that it had improperly deducted editorial costs before handing over the Sun’s share of profits, to the tune of $6 million over a number of years. In August, a judge found in favor of GMG and the Sun, but the LVRJ vowed to appeal the decision on the grounds that under the terms of the JOA GMG should have entered into arbitration, not legal proceedings.

1 comment about "'Las Vegas Review-Journal' Editor Wants To Know Who's In Charge".
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  1. Kirk Cheyfitz from Kirk Cheyfitz Consulting, December 14, 2015 at 2:34 p.m.

    Since the JOA is still in place, didn't the purchase of Stephens Media (or its assets) require the approval of the buyer by the Justice Department? And if so, why aren't the identities of the acquirer's shareholders public information? If I were employed by the LVRJ, I'd make an FOIA request for the information and, if denied, I'd sue.

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