The Baltimore Sun, Maryland’s largest newspaper, will have a local owner for the first time in four decades, the daily reported Monday as former Sinclair Inc. CEO David D. Smith said he bought the storied media outlet from Alden Global Capital.
Smith, executive chairman of the Hunt Valley-based television station owner, said he acquired the Sun in his personal capacity, after first gaining interest in the daily two years ago. The deal includes Capital Gazette papers in Annapolis, Carroll County Times, Towson Times and several other Baltimore-area weeklies and magazines. He is joined in the venture by Armstrong Williams, a conservative political commentator and host of a nationally syndicated television show on Sinclair network affiliates.
“I’m in the news business because I believe … we have an absolute responsibility to serve the public interest,” Smith, who grew up in Baltimore, said in an interview. “I think the paper can be hugely profitable and successful and serve a greater public interest over time.”
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Alden’s MediaNews Group confirmed the deal but did not disclose details. Alden had bought the Sun in 2021, as part of a $633 million acquisition of Chicago-based Tribune Publishing newspaper chain. A spokesman for Sinclair said Smith made the acquisition with his personal assets. “Sinclair Inc. has no involvement with the transaction. Mr. Smith will continue to be our executive chairman and chairman of the board,” he added.
Smith plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newspaper but said he needs time evaluating the operations and identifying areas that require resources. he also envisioned potential for partnerships between the Sun and Sinclair.
Baltimore Sun Media has earned 16 Pulitzer Prizes, most recently in 2020 for its investigation of former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and the University of Maryland Medical System. The company has more than 150 employees and publishes seven other community publications. The Sun and its sister news organizations have more than 230,000 paid subscribers across print and digital platforms.
