Dozens of Alden newspapers run coordinated editorials slamming Google

Dozens of Alden Global Capital-owned newspapers ran editorials over the weekend arguing that Google's threat to cut off news in California "is a bully tactic."

Why it matters: Alden declared in 2022 that its newspapers would no longer endorse national political candidates in their opinion pages, arguing the public discourse "has become increasingly acrimonious."

• But its latest efforts suggest it is interested in driving certain agendas, albeit ones that it probably believes are less likely to draw fiery reactions.

Zoom in: Google is currently testing removing links to publishers from search results amid a regulatory threat to pay news outlets. Meta has threatened the same.

• The editorials ran in many of Alden's California-based outlets, including the San Jose Mercury News, the Orange County Register and its recently purchased San Diego Union-Tribune. But it also ran in non-California papers, such as the Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel and Boston Herald.
• The editorial concludes with a sentence that explicitly endorses the proposed California law: "This kind of anticompetitive behavior is exactly why legislation like the CJPA is needed."

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