press baron

American  

noun

1. an influential newspaper publisher or owner who usually controls more than one widely circulated newspaper.

---

Etymology

Origin of press baron

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

The billionaire Cox family, descendants of an Ohio press baron who bought his first newspaper in 1898, began acquiring cable systems in 1962 and has since held them with a tight grip.

From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2025

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the tycoon “did more than any press baron in the last 100 years to promote the cause of the global free media that is indispensable for democracy and progress.”

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023

Maxwell, the daughter of late British press baron Robert Maxwell, is serving her sentence in a Tallahassee, Florida, prison, and is appealing her conviction.

From Reuters • Aug. 24, 2022

Such concerns came up in the case of Evgeny Lebedev, a 44-year-old Russian-British press baron and friend of Mr. Johnson’s, whom he gave a seat in the House of Lords.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2022

Similarly, Maxwell's own father – British press baron Robert Maxwell – was plagued by conspiracies that he, too, was an undercover intelligence operative for Israel.

From Fox News • Jun. 18, 2020