Earlier this year Florida billionaire David Hoffmann took over Lee Enterprises, the Tulsa World’s parent company.
While finding out that a local business has fallen into the possession of a Florida billionaire is typically cause for concern, this wasn’t a surprise to the nerds1 who pay attention to this kind of stuff. Over a year ago, St. Louis Magazine clocked that Hoffmann, dissatisfied with Lee’s management, had bought up enough of the company’s stock to become its second largest shareholder.
Lee owns media properties in 25 states, enough to make it one of America’s largest newspaper companies. But a poor quarterly earnings report coincided with a buying rampage from Hoffmann big enough to attract the attention of the New York Times. His ambition appears to be boundless. Hoffmann told the Seattle Times last year that the plan is to eventually surpass Gannett and become the country’s largest newspaper publisher.
While it may seem a little crazy to buy up newspapers in the 2020s, Hoffmann’s move doesn’t cut against existing media industry trends. Newspapers and TV stations have been steadily consolidating across the country for decades now, often getting swapped by private equity or stripped for parts by hedge funds. And when you read up on Hoffmann and the strategy for his media businesses, you see that he’s not exactly reinventing the wheel.