Las Vegas Sands Corp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson points a reporter during a news conference in Tokyo February 24, 2014. Later Wednesday, the Review-Journal cited anonymous sources as saying that Adelson’s son-in-law arranged the purchase on the mogul’s behalf. The Review-Journal itself ran a front-page story on Tuesday morning about Adelson’s connections to CT publisher Michael Schroeder, who was the only person listed on regulatory filings related to the sale.
Advertisement
CNN’s Brian Stelter interviewed Adelson yesterday, before the Fortune report, as he was in attendance at the CNN Republican debate. The paper, derisively nicknamed “bibiton”, a portmanteau of a nickname of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Hebrew word for newspaper, has been criticized by some as a mouthpiece for the premier, who counts the casino owner as one of his largest political donors.
For the second time this year, the Boulder City Review, along with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and its sister publications in Nevada are under new ownership.
A longtime Review-Journal staffer-who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his job-said Adelson’s ownership, if confirmed, would likely prompt awkward issues concerning the paper’s political coverage and especially its aggressive coverage of the gaming industry, including Adelson’s rival casino magnate, Steve Wynn.
Davis said the Nevada newspapers are the first outlets GateHouse will manage for a company other than New Media Investment.
Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam.
“Several watchdog journalists and integrity groups like the Society of Professional Journalists have rightly called for the new owners to be transparent and reveal their identities or risk having the quality and value of the information they provide rightly questioned by readers and employees”, said Titus.
He said the public company had no intention to resell the paper, but it did so out of fiduciary duty in the interest of its shareholders when it was made an offer of $140 million.
Adelson and his family bought the paper “as both a financial investment as well as an investment in the future of the Las Vegas community”, the editor’s note said.
Adelson, who has donated more than $100 million to nearly exclusively conservative political causes, including more than $92 million alone in the 2012 presidential election to try to defeat President Barack Obama in his reelection, has not been shy about using his Isreali newspapers as a political cudgel. One editor in a position to know said that the newspaper canceled its subscription to The Associated Press this year – unheard of for a large metro daily – and that it did so to make its books look better in anticipation of the sale. They pledged to invest in the paper. Media watchers and reporters around the country condemned the new owner’s anonymity, including the editorial board at the Review-Journal.
Advertisement
Adelson, who has frequently sued journalists and media outlets whose stories displease him, is famous as a micromanager of his casino business, and it seems unlikely that he would maintain a hands-off approach to newspaper ownership.
