The Santa Rosa Press Democrat was founded in 1897.
The workers union associated with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat on March 4 posted demands that the rumored sale of the daily newspaper to the San Francisco Chronicle’s parent company require that its labor agreements be honored as part of any deal.
“We are being SOLD,” the Press Democrat Guild predicted this week on social media platform X.
The Press Democrat is currently owned by Sonoma Media Investments, led by Managing Partner Darius Anderson, a real estate developer and lobbyist.
A source at SMI confirmed that talks with Hearst were taking place, but no agreement has been reached.
With SMI potentially being sold to the Hearst Corporation, guild members are seeking assurances the terms and conditions of their collective bargaining agreement will be honored by the new owner, the post explained.
The potential purchase was first reported Feb. 6 by the online news source the San Francisco Standard.
The buyout would reportedly include the Press Democrat daily newspaper, as well as its satellite publications the Sonoma Index-Tribune, the Petaluma Argus-Courier, Sonoma magazine and the North Bay Business Journal. If the purchase were to go through, the two newsrooms would remain separate, but administration and business departments would merge, the Standard reported.
In a statement posted to a site managed by the Pacific Media Workers Guild, the Press Democrat’s labor group called for assurances that their agreements would be honored.
“We’re asking Sonoma Media Investments majority owner, Darius Anderson, and the Hearst corporation to make our contract part of the purchase agreement to ensure essential benefits, workplace protections and wages,” the statement said, adding that neither party in the sale has yet to commit to including the labor agreement in the terms of the deal. The statement also suggests Hearst has refused to recognize contracts and unions in other markets.
“Getting Hearst to recognize the contract is not just about ensuring wages,” it continued. “There are many key provisions covered in the contract including job security, scheduling protections, representation in the grievance process, and health and welfare terms.”
Concluded the statement: “Honoring the contract and recognizing the union are the right things to do for the dedicated local journalists who work hard every day to make [the SMI publications] the essential resources they are for their communities.” The full statement can be read here.
An email request for comment to Anderson was not immediately returned.
Founded in 1897, the Press Democrat was purchased by the New York Times in the 1990s, which sold the publication to Halifax Media Group in 2011, which in turn sold it to Anderson’s investor group in 2012.
The PD and Chronicle have over the years closely competed in daily coverage of the North Bay. The Press Democrat beat out the Chronicle for a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on the 2017 North Bay wildfires. Later, the Chronicle got the scoop in the investigation of disgraced former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, the center of multiple accusations of sexual assault—which set the PD on its heels during the rocky tenure of former editor Rick Green.
Local investors in the PD include former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill, former Dolby Sound CEO Bill Jasper, former Congressman Doug Bosco, retired Intel executive Les Vadasz, and Jean Schulz, wife of the late “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz.
