When we left the saga of the Chicago Tribune, Alden Global Capital, the private equity fiends who own 32 percent of it, was trying
to buy the whole company. A Maryland philanthropist, Stewart Bainum Jr., had a tentative deal to spin off the long-suffering Baltimore Sun from the Trib corporation, and return it to local ownership. However, when Bainum and Alden could not agree on terms, he proposed to buy the entire Tribune Company by outbidding Alden. Negotiations then stalled. But now Bainum has a deep-pockets philanthropic partner committed to the civic mission of newspapers. That would be Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss-born entrepreneur and philanthropist who lives in Wyoming, and quietly supports a range of progressive and environmental causes. Wyss, who is 85, is worth $8.71 billion. He is also the money behind the $2.1 billion Wyss
Foundation, which helps fund the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and kindred progressive groups. If Wyss is all in, and other Trib board members don’t play the role of dog in the manger on behalf of Alden (which pillages its media assets), Wyss and Bainum can outbid Alden. That’s how capitalism is supposed to work. All this, however, raises deeper questions. Almost anything is better than rapacious private equity companies taking over what’s left of America’s newspapers. But too few billionaire media owners are as civic-minded as Wyss (viz. Bezos, Jeff). Very rich people tend to be imperious, impulsive, and capricious, for they are accustomed to running the show.
Rich men who buy media properties are often quirky, hiring and firing editors, changing formats and venues (viz. Harper’s, The Atlantic, and The New Republic). Having raised money for 32 years to keep the Prospect alive and well, I could tell you some stories. Until we get a better solution, such as nonprofit ownership and reader support, the business model of The Guardian, we can be very grateful for benign billionaires who are at least quirky but not evil. But there will never be enough of them. That’s also how capitalism works.
