Meet the man who’s on a mission to save your newspaper.
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.
“You know,” Hoffmann says with a grin, “We’re running right toward some things that everybody else is running away from.”
David Hoffmann believes newspapers are vital to the health of a local community. He became chairman of the Lee Enterprises Board of Directors in February.
Derek Gee/Buffalo News
That's why in February, Hoffmann became the chairman of the board of Lee Enterprises, which owns this newspaper and publications in more than 100 other markets.
To understand why he’s doing this — and how he’s able to — requires a look at an improbable backstory.
Hoffmann grew up in Washington, Missouri, a small town west of St. Louis. His dad was a milkman, his mother a waitress, and they struggled to put food on the table and buy coal to heat the house. They had no running hot water. “Those things stay with you,” Hoffmann says quietly.
As a star high school athlete, he attended Northeast Missouri State on an athletic scholarship and earned his degree from the University of Central Missouri. He got his start in the corporate world and eventually found his way to the executive search business, which he loved. Hoffmann started his own search firm, which thrived, and eventually gave him the chance to acquire more businesses.
Hoffmann now owns 127 companies. In June, his purchase of the Pittsburgh Penguins was finalized, a $1.75 billion deal. He has made the Forbes Billionaires List for five straight years, this year rising to No. 1,571 among the world’s richest people.
In 2023, Hoffmann received the Horatio Alger Award, a prestigious honor recognizing people who have overcome significant obstacles to achieve success.
It’s funny, the events that change a life.
When he was just 9 years old, Hoffmann pitched a no-hitter for his Little League team. The life-changing moment, though, came afterward.
The local newspaper, the Missourian, wrote a story about the no-hitter and ran it with Hoffmann’s picture.
“That made a huge impact on me,” Hoffmann says. “It piqued my interest in the newspaper, and I started reading it.”
He never stopped.
“I can honestly say that from the time I was in fourth grade to the present, through high school, college, throughout my career, wherever I’ve lived all over the country, I always kept up with Washington, Missouri,” he says. “Stayed in touch with local news. That great, fabulous newspaper kept me connected to my community, even when I was living in other parts of the world.”
“It made me realize what that meant for many small communities across America,” he says. “The newspaper builds the fabric of a community, celebrates it. What’s going to take the place of that?”
Hoffmann believes that sense of belonging that he remembers from growing up in a small town is essential to the country’s future. “What will we become without it?” he asks. “A country of driverless cars and not knowing our neighbors and our kids sitting there playing video games? Is that what we want?
“In today’s transient world,” he continues, “people can live wherever they want to live, but I’ve got to believe where you’re living, you want to like it, or you’re going to find a way to move someplace else. I think people want to be proud of where they live. And there’s no better way to make that happen than with a newspaper."
So in 2022, Hoffmann started buying community newspapers.
He bought the Missourian. He’s very proud to own his 125-year-old hometown newspaper. He kept buying papers — 42 titles so far, which would by itself make him one of the country’s larger newspaper investors.
But Hoffmann also has been a shareholder in Lee Enterprises, the publicly traded company that owns newspapers nationwide, including The Buffalo News, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Omaha World-Herald and others.
In February, Hoffmann led a $50 million strategic equity private placement in Lee, investing $35 million personally and guaranteeing the rest, which was raised from Lee’s existing investors. Simultaneously, Hoffmann joined Lee’s board of directors as its chairman.
The transaction had a huge impact on the company’s cash position, making the balance sheet much healthier and lowering the interest on its debt from 9% to 5%, which means an estimated $90 million in savings over five years, or $18 million per year. Lee’s stock price is up sharply since the announcement.
nonpareilonline.com
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.
“You know,” Hoffmann says with a grin, “We’re running right toward some things that everybody else is running away from.”
David Hoffmann believes newspapers are vital to the health of a local community. He became chairman of the Lee Enterprises Board of Directors in February.
Derek Gee/Buffalo News
That's why in February, Hoffmann became the chairman of the board of Lee Enterprises, which owns this newspaper and publications in more than 100 other markets.
To understand why he’s doing this — and how he’s able to — requires a look at an improbable backstory.
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Hoffmann grew up in Washington, Missouri, a small town west of St. Louis. His dad was a milkman, his mother a waitress, and they struggled to put food on the table and buy coal to heat the house. They had no running hot water. “Those things stay with you,” Hoffmann says quietly.
As a star high school athlete, he attended Northeast Missouri State on an athletic scholarship and earned his degree from the University of Central Missouri. He got his start in the corporate world and eventually found his way to the executive search business, which he loved. Hoffmann started his own search firm, which thrived, and eventually gave him the chance to acquire more businesses.
Hoffmann now owns 127 companies. In June, his purchase of the Pittsburgh Penguins was finalized, a $1.75 billion deal. He has made the Forbes Billionaires List for five straight years, this year rising to No. 1,571 among the world’s richest people.
In 2023, Hoffmann received the Horatio Alger Award, a prestigious honor recognizing people who have overcome significant obstacles to achieve success.
It’s funny, the events that change a life.
When he was just 9 years old, Hoffmann pitched a no-hitter for his Little League team. The life-changing moment, though, came afterward.
The local newspaper, the Missourian, wrote a story about the no-hitter and ran it with Hoffmann’s picture.
“That made a huge impact on me,” Hoffmann says. “It piqued my interest in the newspaper, and I started reading it.”
He never stopped.
“I can honestly say that from the time I was in fourth grade to the present, through high school, college, throughout my career, wherever I’ve lived all over the country, I always kept up with Washington, Missouri,” he says. “Stayed in touch with local news. That great, fabulous newspaper kept me connected to my community, even when I was living in other parts of the world.”
The motivation to save newspapers
Five years ago, Hoffmann wanted to read about the athletic exploits of his grandchildren in the Chicago area. Unfortunately, that type of local sports coverage wasn’t as plentiful as he had expected, Hoffmann remembers. He found out that the Pioneer Press in Glenview, one of Chicago’s northern suburbs, had recently closed up shop.“It made me realize what that meant for many small communities across America,” he says. “The newspaper builds the fabric of a community, celebrates it. What’s going to take the place of that?”
Hoffmann believes that sense of belonging that he remembers from growing up in a small town is essential to the country’s future. “What will we become without it?” he asks. “A country of driverless cars and not knowing our neighbors and our kids sitting there playing video games? Is that what we want?
“In today’s transient world,” he continues, “people can live wherever they want to live, but I’ve got to believe where you’re living, you want to like it, or you’re going to find a way to move someplace else. I think people want to be proud of where they live. And there’s no better way to make that happen than with a newspaper."
So in 2022, Hoffmann started buying community newspapers.
He bought the Missourian. He’s very proud to own his 125-year-old hometown newspaper. He kept buying papers — 42 titles so far, which would by itself make him one of the country’s larger newspaper investors.
But Hoffmann also has been a shareholder in Lee Enterprises, the publicly traded company that owns newspapers nationwide, including The Buffalo News, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Omaha World-Herald and others.
In February, Hoffmann led a $50 million strategic equity private placement in Lee, investing $35 million personally and guaranteeing the rest, which was raised from Lee’s existing investors. Simultaneously, Hoffmann joined Lee’s board of directors as its chairman.
The transaction had a huge impact on the company’s cash position, making the balance sheet much healthier and lowering the interest on its debt from 9% to 5%, which means an estimated $90 million in savings over five years, or $18 million per year. Lee’s stock price is up sharply since the announcement.
David Hoffmann is investing millions to preserve local newspapers
The Lee Enterprises chairman explains why he believes community newspapers remain essential — and why he's investing millions to help ensure their future.
