Gannett, the owner of USA Today and dozens of other newspapers nationwide, on Thursday won the latest round in its battle with a hedge fund-backed media company intent on buying the chain.

The rival company, MediaNews Group, tried and failed to win seats on Gannett’s eight-member board.

Citing the preliminary vote count conducted by a proxy solicitor on Thursday, Gannett said the result showed that “our strategic plan is the best path to deliver value for all Gannett shareholders.”

MediaNews Group went under the name Digital First Media when the deep cuts it instituted led to a newsroom revolt at The Denver Post last year. The company, backed by the New York firm Alden Global Capital, made an unsolicited bid of $1.3 billion for Gannett in January.

When that didn’t work out, MediaNews nominated six alternate directors to try to secure a majority on Gannett’s board. Prospects for that plan seemed dim, however, so MediaNews put up a more modest three-director slate for Gannett’s annual shareholder election on Thursday.