Sheldon Adelson Shakes Up Israeli Newspaper Market

Israel’s newsstands are looking noticeably less crowded these days, as a crisis in the Israeli press threatens several of the country’s oldest publications. Media experts in Israel say that market competition and a tendency to buy political influence through media ownership have crippled Israel’s once-thriving newspaper market.

And many want to put the blame on one man: Sheldon Adelson, the U.S. casino mogul who launched a free newspaper in Israel in 2007 and has close ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The effects of Adelson’s free paper are being felt acutely by Maariv, one of the country’s oldest newspapers.