Md. Independent parent company acquires more newspapers
Adams Publishing Group announced last week that it has acquired Jones Media Inc., a fourth-generation family-owned media company headquartered in Greeneville, Tennessee. APG is the owner of the Southern Maryland Newspapers: The Calvert Recorder, The Enterprise and the Maryland Independent.
Jones Media has several daily and non-daily community newspapers, tourism-related products and services and a digital marketing solutions agency. The newspapers included in the sale are The Greeneville Sun (Greeneville, Tenn.), The Daily Post-Athenian (Athens, Tenn.), The Daily Times (Maryville, Tenn.), The Newport Plain Talk (Newport, Tenn.), The Rogersville Review (Rogersville, Tenn.), the News-Herald (Loudon County, Tenn.), The Connection (Tellico Village, Tenn.), The Herald-News (Dayton, Tenn.), the Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.), The Mountain Times (Watauga County, N.C.), Ashe Mountain Times (West Jefferson, N.C.), The Avery Journal-Times (Avery County, N.C.) and The Blowing Rocket (Blowing Rock, N.C.).
The other operations include Touring Publications based in Sevierville, Tenn., and serves the Great Smoky Mountains region and the southeastern United States with a multitude of print and digital publications, travel guides and services. High Road Digital, based in Johnson City, Tenn., is a full-service digital marketing solutions firm serving the needs of businesses in Eastern Tennessee, Southwestern Virginia and Western North Carolina.
“We’re very excited to welcome Jones Media to our family of companies,” APG CEO Steve Adams said. “Through generations of stewardship, Jones Media is considered one of the premier newspaper and digital companies in the country. We salute the Jones family and all of the Jones associates for their fine work, and look forward to a prosperous future.”
Gregg Jones will continue as president and CEO of Jones Media, a role he has held for more than 15 years, and will succeed his late father, John M. Jones III, as publisher of The Greeneville Sun.
Adams Publishing Group is a family-owned media company based in Minneapolis, Minn., that produces community newspapers, events, digital products and specialty magazines in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Wyoming and Idaho.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.