Sonoma Media Investments, parent company of The Press Democrat, sold to MediaNews Group
The company has a wide presence in California, including the San Jose Mercury News and San Diego Union-Tribune.
Sonoma Media Investments, parent company of The Press Democrat, Sonoma Magazine and five other North Bay publications is being acquired by MediaNews Group, the companies announced Thursday.
Denver-based MediaNews is part of Alden Global Capital, which owns 68 daily newspapers and more than 300 weekly publications throughout the United States. The company has a wide presence in California, including the San Jose Mercury News in San Jose and the San Diego Union-Tribune. It also owns the Chicago Tribune.
The sale ends months of speculation about whether The Press Democrat and its sibling publications would remain in control of Sonoma businessman and lobbyist Darius Anderson and a small group of local owners.
Since February, several published reports had indicated that a sale of SMI to Hearst Newspapers, publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, was imminent. But neither SMI nor Hearst officials ever publicly confirmed those reports.
A joint news release by the companies is below. This is a developing story. Please check back for details.
Santa Rosa, Calif., May 2, 2025 — Sonoma Media Investments, owner of The Press Democrat, has reached an agreement to sell the newspaper and its sister publications to MediaNews Group, the nation’s largest private operator of newspapers.
“We always believed that a viable, independent local press was vital to our North Bay community. We believe that the newspaper, its staff and most importantly the public will be best served under the stewardship of MediaNews Group, with the newspaper expertise and financial resources necessary to carry on our mission of delivering the highest-caliber local journalism for future North Bay generations,” said Darius Anderson, managing member of Sonoma Media Investments.
MediaNews Group has a major Bay Area presence with its ownership of the San Jose Mercury News and the East Bay Times. The company owns 68 daily newspapers in major cities across the country, including Boston, Chicago, Denver and Orlando as well as another seven larger-market dailies through Tribune Publishing. MediaNews Group publishes more than 300 weekly papers across the U.S. The sale to MediaNews Group includes a provision that honors the existing contract with the Pacific Media Workers Guild, the union that represents the editorial staff.
“We are honored to bring a newspaper of this quality into MediaNews Group,” said Frank Pine, executive editor of MediaNews Group. “We appreciate the importance of local news and information to the communities where we publish and are proud to expand our commitment to Northern California in the North Bay.”
The Press Democrat is one of the most respected local news organizations in the country. The paper’s editorial staff has consistently produced some of the nation’s best local reporting, including earning a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2018 for coverage of the Tubbs Fire.
Anderson formed Sonoma Media Investors in 2012 with local community leaders to preserve and revitalize local journalism in the North Bay at a time when it was uncertain if The Press Democrat would survive.
The group invested significantly in the newsroom and acquired other North Bay publications, including the Sonoma Index-Tribune, Petaluma Argus-Courier, North Bay Business Journal, Sonoma magazine, Sonoma County Gazette and the Spanish language La Prensa Sonoma.
“This has never been a business venture for me or my fellow investors, as much it has been an investment in ensuring there is a trusted voice that informs, engages, and reflects the diverse voices of the North Bay,” Anderson said. “I am grateful to my fellow investors for putting their resources and reputations on the line, to the newsroom staff for their dedication to the mission, and to the North Bay community for their support.”
“I am immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished, including a Pulitzer Prize – an award that is rarely earned by a publication of our size. These results are a tribute to the dedication and hard work of our editorial staff on behalf of the community about which we care so much,” he said.
