Ludington, Michigan
The David Jackson Family has sold the Ludington Daily News, Oceana’s Herald-Journal, and the White Lake Beacon to Community Media Group of West Frankfort, Illinois, according to John Cribb and Gary Greene of Cribb, Greene & Associates, who represented the seller in the transaction. The sale’s effective date is January 1, 2012.
The Ludington Daily News is a six-day daily newspaper with approximately 7,500 paid circulation, and the sale includes the weekly Herald-Journal and White Lake Beacon as well as a number of free and niche publications. The area served by the publications is on the western coast of Lake Michigan, in a region from Manistee to the north and Muskegon to the south. The transaction included several buildings and a web printing operation.
David Jackson, a member of the selling family, was quoted as saying, “They are newspaper people [referring to the purchaser Community Media Group]. They love the news business, and that’s important to me. They are going to make changes, obviously, but they are committed to putting out good newspapers.” Community Media Group owns and operates daily and weekly newspapers in five states, including Michigan.
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Brian Jarvis and his mother, Rebecca Jarvis, have purchased the outstanding stock of clarksburg Publishing Company, d/b/a The Exponent Telegram daily newspaper in Clarksburg, West Virginia, according to John Cribb and Gary Greene of Cribb, Greene & Associates, who represented the seller in the transaction. The transaction is effective as of December 31, 2011.
The Exponent Telegram is an 146-year-old daily newspaper publishing approximately 14,500 paid circulation copies, seven days a week. The newspaper serves the county seat community of Clarksburg, Harrison County and the surrounding communities and counties in North Central West Virginia. Civil War Confederate hero Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was born in Clarksburg. The newspaper also includes several weekly newspapers and a web printing operation.
Brian Jarvis, acting President of The Exponent Telegram said, “Keeping The Exponent Telegram locally owned and operated insures its viability as a pillar of local communities. The Exponent Telegram will continue to be a reliable unbiased source for North Central West Virginia.”
Cribb, Greene & Associates is an 88-year-old newspaper brokerage, consulting, and appraisal firm with offices in Bozeman, Montana and Charlottesville, Virginia. For more information, contact John Cribb, Managing Director, 406-586-6621, jcribb@cribb.com.
