In an era when hedge funds dominate newspaper acquisitions, the Lansing City Pulse found a different kind of buyer — one driven not by profit margins, but by civic purpose. The Michigan Independent Media Group (MIMG), led by philanthropy veteran Dr. Jason Franklin, acquired the fiercely independent alternative weekly, founded and edited for more than two decades by Berl Schwartz.
The unusual pairing might be precisely what local journalism needs right now. “I needed an exit plan,” said Schwartz. “I didn’t have a clue what it was. And one day, out of the blue, I got a phone call from one of the people associated with the group that hadn’t even formed yet. He said, ‘There are a bunch of rich progressives who want to buy and save local newspapers.’” That phone call started a three-year journey toward a deal Schwartz now believes is “truly good for the future of City Pulse and Lansing.”…