NEWPORT – A Salem-based company that owns eight newspapers in Oregon and northern California has purchased the Newport News-Times and its sister publications in Florence and Cottage Grove. The purchase was announced Friday; the price was not disclosed.
Country Media, which is owned by Steve and Carol Hungerford of Salem, purchased the three newspapers from the News Media Corp. of Rochelle, Ill., which has publications in smaller, rural communities in eight states.
Like newspapers big and small all over the country, all three publications have been struggling with declining ad revenue, circulation and staffing and the adjustment to online publishing.
The News-Times, circulation 6,680, went from publishing a paper twice a week to Fridays only last February and outsourced the printing of its publication to The Columbian in Vancouver, Wash. It’s publisher, Jeremy Burke, left a few months later to work at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
Newport Newspapers, the Oregon arm of the News Media Corp., sold the company’s building on Northeast Avery Street in Newport to BAM Newport LLC of Manlius, N.Y. for $775,000 in March, according to Lincoln County property records.
The Siuslaw News in Florence is published Fridays and has a circulation of 4,000. The Cottage Grove Sentinel is also published on Friday and has a circulation of 2,800.
The sale announcement did not detail what physical assets were purchased by Country Media. The Hungerfords could not be reached for comment Saturday.
Country Media, founded in 2000, publishes the Lincoln City News-Guard and papers in Cannon Beach, Tillamook, Coos Bay, Bandon, Brookings, St. Helens and Crescent City, Calif. David Thornberry, who lives in Florence, serves as Country Media’s chief executive.
“Carol and I are longtime Oregon residents and know full well what Florence, Cottage Grove and Newport mean to this state and its residents,” Steve Hungerford said in a statement published by the Suislaw News. “Being involved with these newspapers is a very meaningful step for us and our colleagues.”
News Media president JJ Tompkins said in a statement that it was important for it to find “a company with ties to the coast.”
“We couldn’t be more pleased that Steve and Carol Hungerford of Country Media are the new owners,” Tompkins said. “We know they are committed to local journalism. They have more people and more resources to make these individual publications even stronger.”
I did not renew my subscription because the paper went to once a week but the cost didn’t change. I wasn’t offered a refund to offset the reduction to once a week publication. I purchased a twice a week subscription. I want to support, but also want what I paid for. Hopefully that balance will be restored and I can then make an informed decision about a new subscription.
I hope the new owners can put some money into the News Times because right now it’s basically one reporter, one sports reporter and one incredibly overworked managing editor. And the coverage is simply not where it should be.
Anyone who has been a long time reader of The World out of Coos Bay knows this will not be a good thing for readers of the three papers. The World’s quality of content went down significantly when this company purchased that newspaper.