The Journal Register Company, which owns the Kingston Daily Freeman along with many other newspapers across the country, announced today that investment firm Alden Global Capital has bought the media company.
CEO John Paton, who blogs about JRC's efforts to retool their newsrooms for the internet age at Digital First, says it's a good thing for the company:
Alden has been an investor in our Company for some time and they have had a courtside seat to the Journal Register Company’s radical makeover following our Digital First strategy. They know what we do, they like what we do, and today they are putting their money behind our efforts.
The Wall Street Journal gasps in amazement:
Newspaper acquisitions are a species rarer than the Yangtze River dolphin. But today, for one of the few times since 2007, a newspaper company was bought. For money. Really.
...We’re still scouring our databases, but it appears the only post-2007 acquisition of a significant newspaper company was the purchase of a duo of Philadelphia dailies in a 2010 bankruptcy auction.
It's the second big move for the company in just a few years. In 2009, the Journal Register Company filed for bankruptcy, and emerged six months later with a new management team and a radically re-tooled approach to digital publishing.
For a local look at how that's going inside the Daily Freeman's Kingston headquarters, check out our in-depth interview with Freeman managing editor Tony Adamis from last December.
