Current:Home > StocksOwners of Scranton Times-Tribune, 3 other Pennsylvania dailies sell to publishing giant -Elevate Profit Vision
Owners of Scranton Times-Tribune, 3 other Pennsylvania dailies sell to publishing giant
View
Date:2025-04-14 19:05:37
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania media conglomerate sold its four daily newspapers, including The Times-Tribune of Scranton, to publishing powerhouse MediaNews Group on Thursday, ending nearly 130 years of local ownership.
Times-Shamrock Communications CEO Jim Lewandowski made the announcement to staff, The Times-Tribune reported.
The other papers in the sale are The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre, the Republican Herald of Pottsville, and the (Hazleton) Standard-Speaker, as well as Times-Shamrock’s weeklies, commercial printing business and other divisions.
Times-Shamrock retained control of its radio and billboard operations as well as the landmark Scranton Times building downtown, the Scranton paper reported.
The terms of the sale were not disclosed.
MediaNews Group’s parent company is Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that has been buying up newspapers across the country and faced criticism for slashing budgets and cutting jobs.
A majority of Times-Shamrock’s shareholders approved the sale, but some members of the family that controls the company and published the Scranton Times since 1895 expressed their opposition.
“We remained confident and hopeful that our current board of directors and management team would have been able to lead us through the industry’s headwinds more effectively and humanely than a hedge fund like Alden,” said the statement by former publisher George Lynett and his children, all of whom are shareholders.
Selling“to a company with such a devastating reputation in the industry runs against everything we believe in,” the dissident family members wrote.
A memo from Lewandowski to the staff called the sale “an exceptionally difficult decision” that was driven by “numerous factors including the changes in the newspaper industry.”
A message was sent to MediaNews Group seeking comment.
It wasn’t clear how many layoffs were planned. But a document given to Times-Shamrock employees said the new owner is “offering employment to virtually of the employees, except for a few crossover team members who serve both print and radio.”
veryGood! (12696)
Related
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- In Pennsylvania, One Senate Seat With Big Climate Implications
- 18 Grossly Satisfying Beauty Products With Instant Results
- CRISPR gene-editing may boost cancer immunotherapy, new study finds
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Get $98 Worth of Peter Thomas Roth Skincare Products for Just $49
- U.S. Solar Market Booms, With Utility-Scale Projects Leading the Way
- Bleeding and in pain, she couldn't get 2 Louisiana ERs to answer: Is it a miscarriage?
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Confusion and falsehoods spread as China reverses its 'zero-COVID' policy
Ranking
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Man dies after eating raw oysters from seafood stand near St. Louis
- Dakota Access Opponents Thinking Bigger, Aim to Halt Entire Pipeline
- Rebuilding collapsed portion of I-95 in Philadelphia will take months, Pennsylvania governor says
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Mass. Court Bans Electricity Rate Hikes to Fund Gas Pipeline Projects
- Today’s Climate: September 20, 2010
- Transcript: Robert Costa on Face the Nation, June 11, 2023
Recommendation
Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
Cyberattacks on hospitals thwart India's push to digitize health care
Mass. Court Bans Electricity Rate Hikes to Fund Gas Pipeline Projects
2 horses die less than 24 hours apart at Belmont Park
Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
In North Carolina, more people are training to support patients through an abortion
JPMorgan reaches $290 million settlement with Jeffrey Epstein victims
Today’s Climate: September 21, 2010