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McKay Coppins On The Vultures Ravaging America's Newspapers

Used with permission of The Atlantic
/
Dan Winters for The Atlantic

Newspapers across America have been struggling for years. Some of that can be chalked up to failing to adjust to the digital age. But then there’s the case of Alden Global Capital. It’s a hedge fund, run by two men who, a new article by The Atlantic says, gutted newsrooms across the country in their pursuit of profit.

 

Alden now controls more than 200 newspapers, including, at one time, The Salt Lake Tribune. But despite its national influence, little is known about the company. In a cover story for The Atlantic, reporter McKay Coppins pulls the curtains back on Alden to examine the policies and motives of its two co-founders, Randall Smith and Heath Freeman. In his reporting, Coppins learned that Smith and Freeman’s strategy for newspaper ownership is surprisingly simple, yields them great profits — and is often deadly for papers they own. Coppins join us this Friday at 11 a.m. to share what he’s learned about the men he says are killing America’s newspapers.
 

You can read McKay Coppins article for The Atlantic, "On The Vultures Ravaging America's Newspapers," here.

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.