Newsroom, local leaders fought for Sun’s sale to local buyer

By Caitlyn Freeman
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer

The potential sale of the Baltimore Sun to a Maryland nonprofit is the culmination of a nearly year-long effort by journalists, business people and labor leaders to save the state’s largest daily newspaper from the clutches of a hedge-fund manager known for slashing newsroom jobs at the expense of local journalism.

The Save Our Sun movement began in April 2020 by a group of media professionals in partnership with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild after New York-based Alden Global Capital purchased 32% of the Sun’s parent company, Tribune Publishing Co. of Chicago, last year.

The goal of the movement was twofold: help the Sun avoid the fate of the more than 100 newspapers already owned by Alden Global, and bring local ownership back to the city’s only daily newspaper.

Now, with Maryland businessman and philanthropist Stewart Bainum Jr. set to purchase the Sun, Capital Gazette of Annapolis and the Carroll County Times for $65 million through a nonprofit called Sunlight for All Institute, it appears local journalists got what they wanted.

“I’ve been at the Sun for more than 30 years, and I lived in Baltimore most of my life,” said Liz Bowie, a reporter at the newspaper who helped start the Save Our Sun movement. “The idea that this institution that I cared so much about would die, was horrible. I was determined that, before I left the paper or before it died, I would do everything I could possibly do to make sure that didn’t happen. And so, this was just an incredible moment.”

Bowie, who is also a leader of the Baltimore Sun News Guild, said the union began meeting last year with former Baltimore County Executive Ted Venetoulis and others concerned about Alden Global gaining about a third of the Tribune Publishing shares.

She said Venetoulis encouraged her and others at the newspaper to launch a public campaign to enlist community support and petition Tribune Publishing to return the Sun to local ownership.

The union hired a public relations company to launch the petition campaign, which, according to the movement’s website, garnered over 7,000 signatures in three weeks.

Bowie said the petition was presented to Tribune’s Board of Directors during its meeting in May 2020.

After the May meeting, Bowie said the unions representing other news organizations within Tribune Publishing joined forces and put out a statement in July 2020 expressing a lack of confidence in the organization and asking Tribune Publishing to seek new owners. 

 The Abell Foundation approached Tribune Publishing about a possible deal involving the Sun last summer, but they were unable to strike an agreement.

Venetoulis, who owns H&V Publishing, said he was involved in those discussions, adding that he and other businessmen have been trying to buy the Sun for the last 10 to 12 years.

Bowie said she and others became aware of Alden Global’s attempt to purchase all of Tribune Publishing on Dec. 31, 2020 from a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bowie said the filing also indicated that Bainum was interested in purchasing the Baltimore Sun Media Group (BSMG), which owns the Sun and other local papers, including the Capital Gazette and Carroll County Times.

The deal went public on Wednesday when Tribune Publishing released a statement saying it would be acquired by Alden Global for $17.25 per share, or about $630 million.

As part of the agreement, Tribune said Alden signed a nonbinding term sheet to sell the Sun and other Maryland newspapers to the Sunlight for All Institute, a public charity owned by Bainum.

Venetoulis said that while he’d been in conversations with Bainum about the purchase, the Save Our Sun campaign was not aware of his intentions to retain BSMG. Further, he said he believes that Bainum will reignite the previously held reputation of the Sun. 

“I think what (Bainum) wants to do is … build on the legacy of the Sun …  by putting additional funds in and working with the community to increase the support,” Venetoulis said.

He said he also thinks Bainum wants to “boost civic pride in the fact that it’s going to have a newspaper that is, you know, regaining a lot of its status.”

“But that will take time, and everyone has to be ready for that,” Venetoulis added.

David Ettlin, a retired editor and reporter for the Sun, said he sees the acquisition as “salvation” for the paper.

“I certainly think it would have destroyed the paper to get gobbled up by (Alden Global),” said Ettlin, who was with the paper for 40 years before retiring in 2007. 

According to Bowie, if the deal were to finalize, purchasing the Sun through a non-profit would help reduce the financial burden that newspapers around the nation face in terms of making a profit.

Bowie said that through the non-profit model, all revenue that the Sun receives would go directly back to them.

Pamela Wood, a reporter for the Sun and union member, wasn’t expecting the deal with Bainum to come to fruition.

“I was stunned when I heard that this sale was being proposed,” Wood said. “I’ll be honest, I had sometimes described our efforts through the guild and Save Our Sun as a last-ditch effort to save our newspaper. I thought the odds were stacked against us. I really did. And, so, I was beyond pleasantly surprised that this was announced.”

Bowie said she had trouble expressing her feelings upon hearing the news, adding that it was a mix of joy and relief. She also said that she looks forward to the new possibilities ahead. 

As for the future, Venetoulis, Bowie and Wood all emphasized that the deal between Alden Global and Bainum is not yet finalized. The Tribune Publishing statement said the deal won’t be finished until its approved by non-Alden Global shareholders within the company, which is expected in the second quarter of this year. However, both Bowie and Wood said they are hopeful for what’s to come. 

“I definitely think that there’s a strong possibility that the Sun will shine brighter in the future,” said Wood, who’s been with the paper for almost eight years. “I think there’s a long and bumpy road ahead of us.” 

Bowie, echoing Wood, said the acquisition will allow the Sun to develop a more sustainable business model. 

“I believe Mr. Bainum will be looking forward to creating a new model that will ensure there’s a sustainable revenue stream that allows us to grow the newsroom and, you know, do better journalism,” Bowie said.