Hedge funds scoop up local newspapers withering under COVID-19 cuts

If things weren't going well for the local newspaper industry before the pandemic, COVID-19 might have officially brought it to its knees.

Over the past few years, the newspaper industry has been slowly acquired by deep-pocketed financial companies that believe they can cut costs, shift to digital distribution and create better returns. Now, as coronavirus-induced layoffs mount at local newspapers, journalists and industry observers fear that the pandemic could pave the way for further consolidation.

Chatham Asset Management, the New Jersey-based hedge fund best known as owner of the National Enquirer, announced over the weekend that it has a deal to acquire McClatchy, the country's second-largest newspaper publisher.

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