Reporters From Nevada's Largest Newspaper Demand To Know Who Owns Their Company
Days after a reporter at The Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote an article wondering aloud who his own boss was, the owner of Nevada’s largest newspaper remains a loud, glaring question mark.
The paper was recently bought for $140 million—an extraordinary sum for an outlet of its size. What’s more, the newspaper’s publisher quietly removed quotes from an article about the sale and the new owner’s anonymity, and even told reporters not to worry about the identity of the owner.
On Monday, several reporters at the newspaper sent out tweets and photos in protest of the secrecy, pointing out that the company’s own code of ethics demands that employees “Be accountable and transparent.”
Be Accountable and Transparent. Journalists should abide by the same high standards they expect of others #ethics https://t.co/vE80KWLzrY
— Colton Lochhead (@ColtonLochhead) December 14, 2015
My cubicle at the @reviewjournal #ethics https://t.co/uEep65hoUC pic.twitter.com/rU8jiGKC9x
— Howard Stutz (@howardstutz) December 15, 2015
Just a reminder from some folks I'm honored to call my colleagues. #ethics pic.twitter.com/DeeA3lXofc
— Neal Morton (@nealtmorton) December 14, 2015
.@reviewjournal staffers are tweeting en masse about/linking to SPJ Code of #Ethics in response to mystery buyer. pic.twitter.com/krFTPymod7
— Staci D Kramer (@sdkstl) December 14, 2015
Several guesses have been floated, the best of which may be Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire owner of the Venetian casino and a major donor to conservative super-PACs. But no one has been named for sure yet—and inquiring minds need to know.
Just finished hour+ @reviewjournal ed board. Only q left unanswered - who owns the newspaper?
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) December 14, 2015
If you have any information about the identities of the paper’s new owners, send an email to melissa.cronin@gawker.com.