This Sunday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch plans to publish a front-page profile of a man with local ties making things happen. “NEW HOPE FOR LOCAL NEWS” the headline reads.
Right under it: A photo of the newspaper’s owner, David Hoffmann.
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The Missouri-born Hoffmann closed on a deal to become the majority shareholder in the Post-Dispatch’s parent company, Lee Enterprises, this past winter. He is eminently a newsworthy figure in St. Louis, as coverage in the Business Journal, SLM, and other outlets makes clear.
But the story—unlike the Post’s previous coverage of Hoffmann, which took a tough look at his business dealings in Augusta—wasn’t written by reporters in St. Louis. Instead, it bears the byline of David McCumber, a senior reporter with Lee Enterprises. It’s part of a package of three “centerfold” stories running in Lee papers across the U.S. on Sunday, according to the unions representing Lee employees.
In a statement, the unions said they are “troubled” by the coverage, which they say comes even as “requests by local journalists to cover Hoffmann’s town hall meetings in major markets were denied.”
The package set to run on Sunday makes no mention of those requests.
“Meet the man who’s on a mission to save your newspaper,” the lead story begins. “David Hoffmann is ignoring the naysayers who wrote off newspapers a long time ago. He sees things differently. Hoffmann believes in the power of local news to strengthen communities and the country, and he’s backed that conviction with tens of millions of dollars.”
Alan Achkar, the executive editor of the Post-Dispatch, declined to comment on whether he had a choice to run the stories or had any concerns about potential pushback.
The profile the newspaper plans to publish has the hagiographic feel of sponsored content. It doesn’t just dig back into the oft-told anecdote of how, while growing up in Washington, Missouri, Hoffmann’s Little League no-hitter was featured in The Missourian, igniting his appreciation for community news. It also shows the very photo of 9-year-old David that ran back in the day. It praises his commitment to print and explains “what has been most refreshing for Lee’s newsrooms” is that the company under his leadership “has modestly invested in key local news reporting jobs.”
One of the two companion stories goes deeper on the Hoffmann Family of Companies and Hoffmann’s work as an entrepreneur. His adventures in Augusta, which the Post previously described as buying and selling a host of local businesses at “breakneck speed,” are not mentioned.
Rank and file members of the Post-Dispatch newsroom expressed dismay over the package of stories, which they describe as showing up on the “budget” that outlines which stories will run without explanation from management. (Although, one reporter adds, “Doors are open and concerns are being heard.”) The stories about Hoffmann are also now within the company’s content management system, suggesting they’ll be published online as well. And, because Post has dropped its paywall for the holiday weekend, that will mean wider readership than just paid subscribers.
One reporter says that the newsroom is “shaken up” by the plans to publish the three stories, calling it “disturbing.”
“I don’t think a profile of Hoffman is journalistically necessary right now, with all the news happening in St. Louis and beyond,” the reporter says. “But certainly a profile of Hoffmann from the newsroom would include a discussion about how do we handle conflicts of interest, how do we handle reporting on his businesses, and that is nowhere in any of this. It’s a fundamental tear in the trust that our readers have in the newspaper—that we’re covering our community ‘without fear or favor,’ as called for in the Pulitzer platform.”
The reporter adds, “Aside from the journalism offense, it just feels like a really bad business decision.”
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the consortium of unions representing Lee employees credit Hoffmann for taking “initial steps to reinvest in Lee newsrooms and local journalists.”
However, the statement notes that reporters were denied the chance to cover Hoffmann’s town hall meetings with staffers. “Hoffmann leading a $50 million investment in Lee is certainly newsworthy and makes him a crucial figure in all of the markets where Lee owns a newspaper,” the statement says. “But the unionized newsrooms of Lee Enterprises are voicing our collective concerns that the three stories lack the journalistic integrity that would be demanded of other stories that would get this level of display and prominence. This upcoming, three-story Hoffmann print spread—and its tone—would not have been our choice, and we trust our readers to read between the lines.”
The statement continues, “Hoffmann, in his public comments to date and now through this upcoming profile and two sidebars, has portrayed himself and his company as a potential savior of local news. We will hold him to that standard. And we again invite him to meet with us to directly address our questions, concerns and shared interests.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story included an inaccurate title for the author of the lead story about Hoffmann. David McCumber is a former editor of the Arizona Daily Star but currently a senior reporter with parent company Lee Enterprises. We regret the error.
