Alaska’s largest newspaper files for bankruptcy; new publishers emerge

The Binkley group, Ryan Binkley said, was formed specifically for the purpose of buying the newspaper. His company and Alaska Media will be pooling resources, but he declined to provide specific details about funding.

The final decision on the ownership of the newspaper will be made in about a month, Christianson said. Other parties that might be interested in buying the newspaper will also be able to bid, “and we could end up in an auction situation,” he said. Binkley said the sale doesn’t become final until the bankruptcy ends, and while Rogoff continues to own the company for now, the new group will operate it.

“There will still be a newspaper and there will still be jobs”

The $1 million in working capital can be used for payroll, taxes, “and whatever else is needed to keep a paper running,” Christianson said.

“To the extent they want to see cash used for a particular purpose or they want to have some new person come in and run the company on an interim basis, they have that right,” he said.

Binkley said the “final purchase price” of the paper “could be up to $1 million.”

The newspaper is trying to protect the jobs that are in place, Christianson said. But the Binkleys, he added, will make that call.

“Who knows what they’re going to do in terms of employees, but there will still be a newspaper and there will still be jobs,” Christianson said. “The goal is to keep the paper going and maintain the presence of the paper in the community.”

Ryan Binkley said in an interview there are no immediate plans for layoffs.

“We need to get in there, get to know everybody, understand how the organization is put together,” he said. “We’ve got to find efficiencies, but no, we don’t have any specific plans yet.”

Looking to continue ADN’s legacy

The Binkleys were all born and raised in Fairbanks, where the family has tourism companies The Riverboat Discovery and Gold Dredge 8. Their father is John Binkley, the president of the Cruise Lines International Association of Alaska and a former Alaska legislator.

Evans, who is Inupiaq, is also a lifelong Alaskan. Ryan Binkley and Evans will serve as interim co-publishers. In the long term, Binkley said the group will find a publisher — that might be one of them, or someone else they bring in.

“The ADN can’t be allowed to go away. It’s too important to the city of Anchorage and to the state of Alaska,” the group said. “Alaska deserves and needs a robust and healthy paper of record as much as it needs any other public utility or infrastructure, particularly in these uncertain times.”

In an interview Saturday, Evans said, “We’re a group that kind of came together with the hopes of keeping the paper alive and keeping it strong and continuing the legacy of the Daily News and the Dispatch.” Though Rogoff has “faced some recent financial trouble,” Evans added, “she’s been more committed than anyone to making sure there’s quality journalism in the state.”

Rogoff’s contribution

Rogoff last week sent an email to staff that said she was “in discussions with several potential new investors in our company.” On Friday, in another email to staff, she said “we are in discussions with potential new owners and investors.”

Rogoff was the owner of the online-only news operation Alaska Dispatch, which was founded in 2008. In 2014, Alaska Dispatch purchased the much larger Anchorage Daily News from national newspaper chain McClatchy Corp. for $34 million. As part of the deal, she sold the newspaper’s building in East Anchorage to Alaska telecommunications company GCI.

Rogoff, who is married to billionaire and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, purchased the newspaper because she wanted to beef up news coverage across Alaska. She has a particular interest in Arctic issues.