MediaNews (, a subsidiary of hedge fund Alden Global Capital) owns multiple local Bay Area papers, including the Marin Independent Journal, San Jose Mercury News, East Bay Times, and Vallejo Times-Herald.
(Christopher Chung, Press Democrat visual journalist and president of the newsroom’s union, Pacific Media Workers Guild Local 39521) said members of the Press Democrat’s newsroom union were led to believe that a sale to Hearst was in motion — and even voted in early April to waive their successorship clause in the collective bargaining agreement to help facilitate that sale. He said union leaders agreed to the waiver “under threat, bullying and coercion by (Sonoma Media Investments (SMI), parent company of the Press Democrat) and SMI owner Darius Anderson that alternative ownership could mean a local person with no experience in media.”
The current labor contract remains intact and effective through Aug. 31, 2026, according to the Press Democrat. But the union is bracing for changes, particularly given Alden’s track record of gutting newsrooms. Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, said Alden’s approach is driven by profit.