We recently discussed, in the class, the Economics in the Media Industry. This article addresses some concerns editors and journalist have about the impact of concentration of ownership and self promotion due to the recent announcement of a new publisher, Craig Moon to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and its recent change in ownership to billionaire Sheldon Adelson.
Craig Moon was the executive vice president of Gannett Newspapers and led it’s largest company USA Today from 2003 to 2009. He then worked from there in industry consulting. This concern amongst editors and journalist within the magazine stems from high business officials taking jobs as publishers and editors leading to concentration of the media. Not only has the change in publisher increased worries for the magazine the change in ownership has as well.
Sheldon Adelson is a multibillionaire and has ties to the Republican Party, as a benefactor and the owner of multiple casinos. This ownership has led journalists questioning the bias and political meddling the newspaper will now feature.
The changes to the Las Vegas Review- Journal, have increased bottom-line pressure, pushing out those up for the job with journalistic experience. I wonder if the paper will become more politically involved promoting Republican candidates that Adelson aligns himself with. I also question now if these endorsements will have an impact on its readers and the concentration of media. Will its news content now become more homogeneous? I feel as though this direction will lead to more of an endorsement of the Republican Party candidate as the race for president gets closer and closer, than news media content.
I thought this article was a good representation of the concerns of political and bottom-line pressure in the form of media, in well known newspapers. I would love to hear some of your thoughts about the new changes in ownership and management and what that means for the Las Vegas Review-Journal!