A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.
– H.L. Mencken
The saga surrounding American oligarch Sheldon Adelson’s purchase of Las Vegas’ largest newspaper, The Review-Journal, is turning into a murder-mystery of sorts, with the primary victim being the truth.
There’s a lot to cover here, so let’s get to it. First a little background from last week’s post, Sheldon Adelson Revealed as Mystery Buyer of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
For nearly a week, the media and political worlds have been wondering who paid $140 million to purchase Nevada’s largest daily newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The primary buyer had taken great pains to remain anonymous, but Fortune has learned from multiple sources familiar with the situation that it is Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp.
What remains unclear is why Adelson has refused to come forward. Clearly this isn’t a vanity play, and it’s also hard to imagine it as a financial investment (particularly given the steep price tag). What that leaves is political influence, particularly in a swing state like Nevada.That said, however, it would seem difficult to direct editorial coverage when the actual editorial writers are in the dark as to who signs their paychecks.
The purchase was a significant and ominous development on multiple levels. First of all, the man admitted last year that he doesn’t like journalism, but nonetheless thought he should scheme with Israeli-American oligarch, and top Hillary Clinton donor, Haim Saban to purchase the New York Times to shift the paper’s coverage of Israel. From Haaretz:
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