Newspaper Industry

A top investor thinks the owner of newspapers like St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Omaha World-Herald are entering a difficult business climate with advertising sales continuing their decline.

Alan Achkar is now executive editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his second stint at the daily.

Shareholders for Lee Enterprises, owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and 23 other papers in the Midwest, re-elected three directors on Thursday. That news could complicate any future takeover bid by Alden Global Capital.

The lawsuit isn’t unexpected. Journalism analysts and union representatives had anticipated that Alden Global Capital would continue to aggressively pursue a deal for the newspaper owner.

Lee Enterprises' board of directors rejected a buyout offer from Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund known for downsizing the newspapers it owns.

Lee executives said the hedge fund, known for gutting the newspapers it acquires, did not follow the rules in trying to nominate three people to the the publisher's board.

The media giant has sold 12 papers in smaller communities as it streamlines national operation

The Webster-Kirkwood Times and the Riverfront Times faced an uncertain future last March. As the coronavirus spread across the U.S., management at both newspapers sought to suspend print editions. Journalists from both organizations share how they battled back from the brink.

The Webster-Kirkwood Times suspended print operations this year because of the pandemic. It returning with around nine employees, compared to roughly two dozen before the shutdown.

The week of March 16 was a terrible one for alt-weeklies. The free newspapers — which rely entirely on advertising and public events for revenue — were…