New Atlantic investigation digs into the “vulture funds” gutting your local newspaper and making a profit

Local papers have been in decline for many years, and so-called vulture funds are swooping in to buy those companies cheaply -- then gutting them and profiting off of their assets. In his latest article for The Atlantic, McKay Coppins chronicles Alden Global Capital’s rise to becoming one of the biggest newspaper owners in the country, even though they invest little money and cut a lot of staff and resources. What’s lost is a trusted local institution that “provide[s] a check on people of power,” he says. “When you lose them, you make it easier for demagogues and other kinds of divisive figures to come in and pull people apart for their own gain.”Oct. 16, 2021