Newport, OR – News Media Corporation has sold its Oregon cluster of newspapers to Country Media, Inc. The sale included the Newport News Times, Newport, Oregon, the Siuslaw News, Florence, Oregon, and the Cottage Grove Sentinel, Cottage Grove, Oregon.
John Cribb, of Cribb Cope & Potts represented the Tompkins family and News Media Corporation in the sale. Terms were not disclosed.
JJ Tompkins, CEO of News Media Corporation, said it was important his family’s company found the right company to sell their Oregon newspapers to.
“News Media Corporation is proud of its 20 plus years doing business in Oregon,” Tompkins, said. “It has been a successful run and would not have been possible without the many dedicated employees who have worked at these offices. We are so grateful for them.”
“When we listed this group it was important to us to find a company with ties to the coast,” Tompkins added. “We couldn’t be more pleased that Steve and Carol Hungerford of Country Media are the new owners. We know they are committed to local journalism. They have more people and more resources to make these individual publications even stronger.”
Said Country Media president Steve Hungerford, “As a media company with paid-circulation newspapers in seven Oregon communities, we know first-hand the value these three newspapers and digital sites bring to their readers.
“It’s a privilege to continue News Media’s legacy of local news coverage in dynamic, smaller communities.”
The Tompkins family and News Media Corporation were represented by John Cribb of Cribb, Cope & Potts. CCP is a leading merger and acquisition firm with offices in Montana, California and Arkansas.