PORTSMOUTH HERALD OWNER BUYS UP MORE LOCAL PAPERS

New Media Investment Group, owner of the Portsmouth Herald and all Seacoast Media Group publications, Foster’s Daily Democrat and hundreds of other local newspapers nationwide, has emerged from the intentional Gatehouse Media bankruptcy and continues to buy more newspapers. FlaglerLive, a nonprofit online news service, describes how the company operates in our new world of journalism:

http://flaglerlive.com/73032/new-media-halifax/ Nov. 21, 2014

More detail from the point of view of business journals, also mentioning the purchase of Foster’s Daily Democrat:

http://dankennedy.net/tag/gatehouse/  Nov. 20, 2014

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WHO OWNS YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER?

The Portsmouth Herald’s parent company, GateHouse Media, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the newly public company, New Media Investment Group.  The company pledges to continue to be an integral part of the community, as “we have been for so many years.” It says “we will continue to bring the community rich local news and information and remain the center of the conversation among businesses and citizens.”

New Media Investment Group describes itself as “the largest publisher of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by the number of daily publications serving 338 markets across 24 states.” In addition to the Portsmouth Herald, New Media Investment Group’ has a portfolio of 435 community publications, over 350 related websites and a digital marketing services business.

Managing New Media is FIG LLC, an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC. The company pledges to draw on the expertise and resources of Fortress, a global investment management firm with $58 billion in fee-paying assets under management as of September 30, 2013. For more detailed information , go to: http://www.newmediainv.com/

(For more on the spinoff’s financial goals, go to the website’s Investor Relations section, click on Presentations, then on New Media Spin-Off). 

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Herald’s Giant Owner Gets Bigger, July 2014:

New Media Investment Group, Inc. parent owner of the Portsmouth Herald, has bought the Providence Journal, one of the oldest print publications in the country, and its digital assets. New Media, which owns more than 400 American newspapers, announced the acquisition on July 22, 2014. The Journal was first published in 1829. It has a circulation of 72,000 and 96,000 on Sunday.

http://ir.newmediainv.com/News.aspx?IID=4426551&mode=1&type=

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Ex-employees of Gatehouse report:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass_roundup/2014/04/former-cape-cod-times-employees-band-together-to.html?page=all

Here’s their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/KeepLocalNewsLocal

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A public analysis of New Media’s first quarter results on April 11, 2014:

http://tickerreport.com/banking-finance/184972/new-media-investment-group-now-covered-by-r-f-lafferty-newm/

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For decades, newspapers moved from local ownership to nationwide chains. But the Nieman Journalism Lab on April 10, 2014 sees a shift in the other direction — with the help of your friendly neighborhood billionaire.

http://www.niemanlab.org/2014/04/the-newsonomics-of-5050-and-the-unchaining-of-the-u-s-press/

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An analysis of the future of Gatehouse Media in the Boston Business Journal, March 21, 2014:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass_roundup/2014/03/gatehouse-parent-says-it-has-identified-150m-to.html?page=all

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Fortress Investment Group, ultimate owner of New Media Investment Group, owner of GateHouse Media, which in turn owns the Portsmouth Herald, reports Feb. 28, 2014 a loss of $3.7 million with its investment in a digital currency know as bitcoins.

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/02/28/fortress-investment-group-bought-20-million-of-bitcoin-in-2013/

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On Sept. 4, 2013, the Portsmouth Herald reported that News Corp., its parent company, had sold the Dow Jones Local Media Group, which ran community media franchises including the Portsmouth Herald in seven states, to an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group. Fortress Investment Group is described as the main shareholder of GateHouse Media, one of the country’s “largest publishers of locally based print and online media,” and the new manager of Dow Jones Local Media Group’s operations.

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SOME OF THE LATEST NEWS INVOLVING THOSE BEHIND YOUR LOCAL NEWS FRANCHISE:

Feb. 17, 2014, GateHouse Media recently returned to the public markets for a second chance. Private equity backer Fortress Investment Group heaved GateHouse into bankruptcy court last September to shake off roughly $1 billion in debt. But the acquisitions resumed: Fortress used one of its real estate investment trusts to buy the Dow Jones local media group, a chain that includes the Cape Cod Times and Standard-Times of New Bedford, for $82 million and joined that group with GateHouse in a new venture. That venture, known as New Media Investment Group Inc., was set free into the public market via a spin-off, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NEWM.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass_roundup/2014/02/gatehouse-is-back-in-the-public-market.html?page=all

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MORE ABOUT WHO IS BEHIND YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER:

Sept. 4, 2013, More background on the sale of the Portsmouth Herald:

http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2013/09/04/news-corp-sells-dow-jones-local-media.html

GateHouse Media website (publications):

http://www.gatehousemedia.com/publications

Sept. 3, 2013, Journalism watchdog’s blog post on the sale and new GateHouse Media holdings:

Nov. 22, 2013, Report on Fortress Investment Group:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304791704579214173332166230

Nov. 20, 2013, Report about Fortress Investment Group:

http://www.thedeal.com/content/private-equity/fortress-told-investors-its-portfolio-could-contain-stoli.php

Here’s what Wikipedia says about Fortress Investment Group:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_Investment_Group

Dec. 2, 2013, Article on Gatehouse Media looking for newspapers to acquire:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass_roundup/2013/12/gatehouses-next-potential-acquisitions.html?page=all

Nov. 15, 2013, Background on GateHouse Media:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/2013/11/15/gatehouse-media-earnings-slide-continues/3595087/

Nov. 9, 2013, Article describing GateHouse Media job cuts:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/11/09/new-owner-cuts-jobs-cape-cod-new-bedford-papers/8sDCXfPo3vQL7KoF66htCL/story.html

Nov. 6, 2013, Article describing GateHouse Media bankruptcy ending:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/business/2013/11/06/gatehouse-media-gets-ok-for-ending-bankruptcy/3455775/

Nov. 4, 2013, Blog post about management behavior at another GateHouse-owned newspaper by a leading journalism watchdog:

http://jimromenesko.com/2013/11/04/times-herald-record-bosses-are-blasted-for-heartless-layoffs/

Sept. 27, 2013, Poynter Institute Description of GateHouse Media Chapter 11:

http://www.poynter.org/tag/gatehouse-media/

May 16, 2013, Poynter Institute on GateHouse Media; Faith & Family Values:

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/213067/deseret-syndicates-its-faith-and-family-values-coverage-to-gatehouse-media/

March 13, 2012, Post about top GateHouse Media executives’ past pay:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-turner/as-company-is-collapsing-_b_1337593.html

Nov. 9, 2011, Poynter Institute Report on GateHouse Media:

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/152685/gatehouse-media-ceo-we-need-to-become-more-than-a-newspaper-company/

Here’s what Wikipedia says about GateHouse Media:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GateHouse_Media