The president of Alden Global Capital is poised to become one of the largest owners of Cumulus Media when the radio broadcaster emerges from its restructuring under federal bankruptcy rules, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Transfer of control amendments filed with the agency show Alden Global Capital President Heath Freeman will hold a 32 percent voting interest in Cumulus Media through a shell company called Next Gen Radio Enterprises LLC, the documents show. The ownership changes require the approval of the FCC because they involve broadcast licenses that are issued by the agency.
Cumulus started its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in March, with the radio broadcaster saying it expected to restructure its debt and close out the case by this summer. The company was recently granted a 120-day extension of its Chapter 11 exclusivity periods, moving its exclusive plan-filing window to October 30 and its solicitation window to December 29.
Freeman’s potential role connects Cumulus to one of the most controversial investment firms in American media: Alden Global began as a distressed-debt investor and became a major newspaper owner after acquiring MediaNews Group out of bankruptcy around 2010.
Its holdings later expanded to include the Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Boston Herald, New York Daily News, Orange County Register and dozens of other newspapers. Alden Global fully acquired Tribune Publishing in 2021. Many of the newspapers that have come under Alden Global’s control have issued pink slips to workers, cut production and moved to a shared services model where one story appears in multiple outlets.
The firm has been heavily criticized by newsroom unions, journalists and lawmakers who accuse it of dismissing workers, selling real estate and reducing investment in local journalism after acquiring distressed publications.
Alden Global’s real estate strategy has also drawn scrutiny in Congress: In 2019, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York wrote to Freeman over reports that Alden Global created commercial real estate subsidiaries to sell or lease newsroom offices and printing facilities after acquisitions.
A year later, Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois wrote to Freeman after Alden built a 32 percent stake in Tribune Publishing, saying the firm “must reverse course and put an end to policies that have hollowed out local newspapers and their staff across the country.”
The FCC filing does not indicate whether Freeman or Next Gen Radio Enterprises will take an operational role in Cumulus after the company emerges from bankruptcy. Cumulus operates radio stations, national advertising services and syndicated programming across multiple U.S. markets.
