The Wall Street Journal reports that Pioneer Press owner MediaNews Group, which announced a management shake-up Thursday, "is eyeing a merger with Freedom Communications Inc. and possibly several other newspaper companies."

The common denominator is New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Alden has more control of Denver-based MNG's holding company after a 2010 bankruptcy, and similarly gained hegemony over California-based Freedom last year. Alden now owns Philadelphia's dailies and the Pennsylvania-based Journal Register Co.

A conglomeration would be a truly national newspaper company, though the Pioneer Press would still be the only Minnesota property. The Wall Street Journal says Alden wants to roll "at least some" of its newspaper holdings into the combined company. Assuming the report is accurate, it will be interesting to see who's in and who's out.

Also this morning, former Pioneer Press managing editor Ken Doctor, now a widely quoted media analyst, surveys the MNG shakeup and sees some parallels to the Star Tribune, where private capital brought in non-newspaper managers to get to a "digital, multi-platform" future.

By the way, MNG elevated World Wrestling Entertainment's former Chief Operating Officer to interim Chief Revenue Officer yesterday; that's as non-newspaper as it gets.