Why Did Sheldon Adelson Attempt to Keep Purchase of Nevada’s Largest Newspaper a Secret?
Well, the cat is out of the bag: as suspected, Sheldon Adelson did indeed purchase The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The $140 million sale was completed last week, but Adelson’s identity as buyer only became public today.
Adelson, a major Republican Party donor who hosted Tuesday night’s debate at his Venetian property, had been widely rumored to be the buyer — including by employees at the Review-Journal itself, which this morning ran a front-page story that detailed Adelson’s ties to Michael Schroeder, a regional Connecticut newspaper publisher who was the only person listed on regulatory filings related to the sale.
Schroeder yesterday declined to identify the primary buyer, or to explain how he became involved with the Review-Journal purchase. Adelson has not responded to repeated requests for comment over the past several days.
Why would Adelson spend so much money on the corpse of dead tree media?
The sale doesn’t make sense from a business perspective, said Esther Thorson, research director for the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, but as a vehicle to spread a political message, it’s far cheaper than ad time.
“Why else would you buy a newspaper for way more than it’s worth?” Thorson said. “But as a political contribution, it’s not that much.”
If history is any guide, the pages of Nevada’s largest newspaper will soon be used to demonize online gambling and marijuana, and promote the idea of dropping an “atomic bomb” on Iran.
And hey, there are all kinds of legitimate reasons why Adelson would (ridiculously) attempt to keep his identity secret here. Well, for example…um…maybe he wanted to be able to anonymously judge the performance of his home delivery carrier?
Who bought the Las Vegas Review-Journal? It’s anybody’s guess - Los Angeles Times
Yes, Sheldon Adelson Bought The Las Vegas Review-Journal - Fortune