Topic: Alden Global Capital

Journalists at the Chicago Tribune and other Alden Global Capital-owned papers staged a 24-hour walkout to protest budget cuts and the elimination of 401k matches. The strike highlights the "gutting" of local news by hedge funds focused on short-term profits. The hosts discuss the long-term decline of the newspaper business model, which began with the rise of local television and was accelerated by the internet.

Tribune Publishing, which includes the Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun, was sold to the hedge fund Alden Global Capital after a rival bid from Maryland philanthropist Stewart Bainum Jr. failed. Alden is known for aggressive cost-cutting and staff reductions at its newspapers to achieve 20% profit margins. The sale has sparked concerns about the "evisceration" of local newsrooms and the potential loss of the Tribune's voice as a representative of responsible Midwestern republicanism.