News. Canadian news publisher Steven Malkowich has bought the Bakersfield Californian newspaper, previously family-owned for 122 years through the new company Sound News Media. He already owns California news titles Antelope Valley Press and Lodi News-Sentinel, in addition to being EVP of Alberta Newspaper Group. The Los Angeles Times reports:
“The Vancouver-based Alberta Newspaper Group, where Malkowich is employed as an executive vice president, is run by David Radler, the man who helped fallen media baron Conrad Black build a global newspaper empire. Radler was Black’s longtime right-hand man, and later — in exchange for a plea bargain in their fraud case — served as the star witness against Black. Radler, who was formerly the publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, served less than a year of his 29-month sentence for fraud. Black was recently pardoned by President Trump. In 2007, Canada’s Financial Post wrote, amid the criminal proceedings, that Radler was ‘quietly amassing a burgeoning community newspaper empire with his eldest daughter’ Melanie Walsh (née Radler). The article details the early holdings of the Rhode Island newspaper group, which have since grown.”
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