A mystery is swirling around the identity of the anonymous buyer of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, who purchased the paper last week for $140 million. Reno Public Radio's Julia Ritchey has more.
A company called News + Media Capital Group LLC has been mum about its investors and why it bought out Nevada's largest daily newspaper.
The group paid nearly $40 million more than what the paper had sold for just nine months ago.
Reporters at the Review-Journal have taken to Twitter to express concern and disappointment with the lack of transparency in the deal. Many included links to the Society of Professional Journalist's code of ethics.
Andrew Seaman is with the SPJ and says the situation sets a bad precedent.
"It sort of rings as hypocrisy almost to say that you're going to own a newspaper and you're going to employ journalists to go out in the world and ask people to divulge information about themselves, but at the same time operate in the shadows."
The Review-Journal's publisher and top editor did not return calls for comment.
Because Nevada is a swing state, some media observers have speculated that the buyer may have a political interest. The conservative casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has been floated as one possibility, though he has not commented publicly either.
