Oklahoma newspapers will be affected by merger deal of 2 media companies
Several Oklahoma daily and weekly newspapers and a TV station are included in a merger of two Alabama-based media companies.
Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. and Raycom Media Inc. announced the merger Monday. Both companies are based in Montgomery, Alabama, and are financed by Alabama pension funds.
The Oklahoma daily newspapers included in the merger are The Ada News; Claremore Daily Progress; The Duncan Banner; Enid News & Eagle; McAlester NewsCapital; The Muskogee Phoenix; The Norman Transcript; The Stillwater News Press; the Tahlequah Daily Press; and the Woodward News.
In addition, other nondaily newspapers in Oklahoma involved in the merger are the Chickasha Express Star; Edmond Sun; The Moore American; Pauls Valley Democrat; and the Stilwell Democrat Journal. The deal also includes Lawton TV station KSWO.
Community Newspaper Holdings owns more than 110 newspapers, websites and publications in 22 states. Raycom Media owns or operates 65 television and two radio stations in 20 states.
Under the merger agreement, Community Newspaper Holdings will operate as a Raycom Media subsidiary. The merger is expected to be completed Friday.
In seven cases where markets for Raycom Media broadcast stations and Community Newspaper Holdings newspapers overlap, the newspaper properties will be sold to a third party, Community Newspaper Holdings said in a statement.
“Quality local journalism is the foundation of Raycom Media and CNHI,” Raycom President and CEO Pat LaPlatney said in the statement. Both companies said the merger will help strengthen local content and finances to ensure “future growth and superior service to our clients and audience.”
Donna Barrett, president and CEO of Community Newspaper Holdings, said the merger “marks an important milestone in our history as we combine two award-winning media organizations with the common mission of delivering quality local news and information across print, broadcast and digital platforms.”
Raycom’s stations cover more than 16 percent of U.S. television households. Most of its stations in are in southern states, but it also owns stations in Ohio and Indiana and as far west as Honolulu, Hawaii.
Among CNHI’s largest newspapers: The EagleTribune of North Andover, Massachusetts; The Joplin Globe in Missouri; and The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.