The Dispatch Printing Company, owned by the Wolfe family, will sell its print publications to the New Media Investment Group Inc., based in New York City,
the
Columbus Dispatch
reported.
The sale includes the
Dispatch
, which the Wolfes have owned for 110 years. Also being sold are ThisWeek Newspapers, encompassing 24 suburban weeklies; seven magazines, including
Columbus Monthly, Columbus CEO and Capital Style
; and three commercial properties, including the
Dispatch
’s printing plant, the article said.
According to the report, the family will continue to own and operate its broadcast holdings: CBS affiliate WNBS-TV in Columbus; NBC affiliate WTHR-TV in Indianapolis; RadiOhio Inc., which operates WBNS AM and FM radio stations; and the Ohio News Network, which supplies news, weather and sports to 70 Ohio radio stations.
The family will also still own Capital Square Ltd., a commercial real estate enterprise, and Agricultural Lands Inc., a portfolio of farming operations, the
Dispatch
article said.
John F. Wolfe, chairman and publisher of the
Dispatch
, told the paper that the family assessed changes in the industry for several years before deciding to sell. “[T]he past two decades of accelerating and challenging change in the newspaper industry made it clear to us that maintaining a single-city, family-owned paper in this environment was untenable long-term,” he told the
Dispatch.
The Dispatch Printing Company will keep its corporate name after the sale, the report said.
New Media Investment Company, a holding company formed after the 2013 bankruptcy of GateHouse Media, has 550 publications in 32 states, the article noted. (Source:
Columbus Dispatch
, June 3, 2015.)
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