The new owners of Nevada’s largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, published an editorial in Wednesday’s paper pledging a product that is “fair, unbiased and accurate.”
The Adelson family confirmed the purchase of the newspaper Thursday, a claim the family patriarch, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, had previously skirted.
Since the conservative megadonor’s family was announced as the anonymous owner of the newspaper, questions have flown about the family buying the paper for political influence. This editorial seems to be their answer to those questions.
They promise “to publish a newspaper that is fair, unbiased and accurate.”
“We decided to buy the Review-Journal to help create a better newspaper — a forward thinking newspaper that is worthy of our Las Vegas community,” the editorial continued. “This journalism will be supported by new investments in services such as enhanced fact checking and a Reader Advocate or Ombudsperson to respond to reader concerns.”
Here’s the whole thing:
The Review-Journal has long been a cornerstone of Las Vegas, and we want the community to understand the three principles that will guide us as the new owners of the R-J.
First, we are committed to making the new investments necessary for the Review-Journal to succeed. The R-J has now been sold twice within just one year, in the midst of a volatile newspaper industry that is facing enormous challenges. Our goal is to invest with the team at the R-J as necessary to create new features and components that will be win-wins for the newspaper and its readers. We are proud to have contributed over many years to the success of the Las Vegas economy and to the lives of more than 10,000 Las Vegas residents who work with us at Sands. We are determined to generate the same kind of new investments and financial stability at the Review-Journal.
Second, we pledge to publish a newspaper that is fair, unbiased and accurate. We decided to buy the Review-Journal to help create a better newspaper — a forward thinking newspaper that is worthy of our Las Vegas community. This journalism will be supported by new investments in services such as enhanced fact checking and a Reader Advocate or Ombudsperson to respond to reader concerns.
Third, we regard ourselves as stewards of this essential community institution, and we promise that the Review-Journal will serve the people of Las Vegas for many years to come. In particular, we will deepen the newspaper’s involvement with the community and invest what is necessary to ensure that the R-J is reporting news in the ways our community expects.
These are the three principles that will guide our ownership of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. How will this all work over the coming weeks and months? The professionals at New Media, who are now managing the R-J as well as running more than 125 other daily newspapers nationwide, will continue to oversee all operations. Mike Hengel, the paper’s current editor, accepted a voluntary buyout offer from the R-J’s prior owners, an offer that was also made to other qualified employees. Other R-J employees also accepted the voluntary buyout offer from the previous owners. The New Media managers will appoint an interim editor and will immediately begin a search for the next permanent Review-Journal editor.
We are confident that the best days for the Review-Journal, Southern Nevada and the entire state are yet to come, and we feel privileged to be able to continue to play a role in our great community.
