UPDATED: Telegram Sold for Third Time in 14 Months

Friday, November 21, 2014

GoLocalProv Business Team

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has been sold yet again. It was purchased in May by Halifax Media Group of Daytona Beach, FL. The new owners are GateHouse Media's acquisition parent company which purchased the Providence Journal this year.

Now, the Telegram is sold again just months after the Halifax purchase and implemented dramatic cuts.

Boston Red Sox principal owner John Henry bought the Telegram & Gazette and the Boston Globe from the New York Times last year and pledged to find local owners for the paper, however, a deal to sell to a Worcester group fell through.

Halifax owns 35 newspapers across the country including the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group and the Telegram & Gazette was the company's first in Northeast. The entire Halifax group is part of the acquisition.

Jim Romenesko, media analyst and blogger published a copy of the Memo:

TO: GateHouse Media and LMG Employees FROM: Kirk Davis, CEO, GateHouse Media LLC RE: Halifax Media Asset Purchase Agreement Announcement DATE: November 20, 2014

I’m pleased to announce that New Media Investment Group Inc., has reached an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Halifax Media Group. The sale is expected to close in early 2015.
The acquisition represents an exciting opportunity for GateHouse and LMG. The Halifax group includes 36 newspapers and affiliated websites, with a concentration in the southeast (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina). Also included is the Worcester Telegram and Gazette which strengthens our northeast presence.

If you are familiar with our footprint today, you’ll note that this is a major expansion into the southeast region of the country. From geographic diversification, to attractive demographics, strong regional economies and flourishing tourism, this acquisition brings tremendous benefits. Together, these publications will add total circulation of approximately 635K daily and 752K Sunday.

The properties bring an award‐winning heritage of strong, local reporting, including two recent Pulitzers. In 2012, The Tuscaloosa News (Tuscaloosa, AL) received a Pulitzer for its use of social media in breaking news coverage. The Sarasota Herald‐Tribune (Sarasota, FL), a Pulitzer finalist in 2008 and 2010, won in 2011 for an investigation into the state of home insurance in FL, with the series “Insurance Nightmare”. The Halifax papers are perennial top performers in regional, state and national news competitions.

On the business side, we’re confident that the opportunity we bring to grow their digital services revenue presents Propel Marketing, our digital services agency, with a wonderful expansion platform.
We look forward to welcoming the Halifax Media Group properties to our family!

According to the reports, GateHouse media's parent company paid $280 million for the Halifax Media Group.

Dan Kennedy, a professor of Journalism at Northeastern University, said in his blog, "GateHouse has a well-earned reputation for cutting staff and compensation, although that hardly makes it unique. The larger story is that its executives clearly believe it can be the last local-newspaper chain standing by centralizing every part of its operations that aren’t strictly tied to local news."

At the time of the acquisition in May, Halifax CEO Michael Redding said, "The T&G is an excellent local newspaper with a dedicated and talented staff. In 2012, we acquired the Regional Media Group newspapers of the New York Times, so the T&G will be aligned again with their former New York Times papers and will join the outstanding teams at Halifax. We look forward to the upcoming closing of the transaction."

The Telegram & Gazette was owned by the New York Times from 2000 through 2013.

Related Slideshow: Reaction to Telegram Staffing Cuts by New Owners

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Tim Murray

President and CEO, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

@TimMurray_MA

"Losing a quarter of the newsroom is troubling. We live in a state where Boston has media dominance, so Worcester needs a strong voice in terms of news coverage. When a staff is cut to this degree, that voice really loses its punch."

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Mark Henderson

Former Online Director, Worcester Telegram

@henderson_mark

"I appreciate the texts, emails, DMs and calls and I know journalists have a job to do but I really need to hold fast for 24 hrs to cool down."

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Bill McCarthy

State Committee Member, Massachusetts Republican Party

"I'm not surprised that they let people go; that is a normal part of acquiring any business. There will probably be even more layoffs as the new owners look to establish their goals and attempt to streamline the company."

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Tracy Novick

Worcester School Committee

@TracyNovick

"It is more than just the numbers; the Telegram is losing a lot of leadership. There is a lot of institutional knowledge lot in these cuts. In order for any community to succeed, a good local paper is needed."

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Susan Spencer

Blackstone Valley Regional Reporter, Worcester Telegram

@SusanSpencerTG

"#SupportTheTelegramStaff There is no dignity to the way people are being let go. Can't there be a more humane way?"

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Michael Redding

CEO and Publisher, Halifax Media Group

"All of it is unfortunate. You never want to be a part of it. For the future of the business, we needed to get to the right size. We put it in a staffing position that compares to our papers in the south. But I want to say, this will not impact our news coverage in any way."

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Ed Collier

Photographer, freelanced for the Telegram in the past

@ecollierphoto

“A newspaper is so much more than circulation. I don’t understand what [Halifax] thought they were buying. It is difficult to see how the paper can move forward without some of these people.”

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Nick Kotsopoulos

City Hall Reporter, Worcester Telegram

@NCKotsopoulos

"Today was like a death in the family @telegramdotcom: times 28. None of these people will be forgotten for all they did.."

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Kate Toomey

Worcester City Councilor

@KateToomey

"#SupporttheTelegramStaff Sending positive thoughts"

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Michael Frederick

Editor, Publisher, CEO of headlinesurfer.com (based in the same area that Halifax aquired newspapers in Florida)

@headlinesurfer

“I posted a blog about Halifax and Michael Redding where I compare Redding to Darth Vader in terms of his coldness toward staff and Rick Moranis’ character from Spaceballs because he puts out a mediocre product.”