Democrat-Gazette Buys Times, Record
Last updated Friday, August 19, 2005 7:51 PM CDT in Breaking News
By Ron Wood
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has bought the Northwest Arkansas Times and Benton County Daily Record from Community Publishers Inc., it announced Friday afternoon.
The two companies have published combined editions for five years. The agreement has been referred to as a joint venture, an alliance or a lease, depending on the source. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Community Publishers has leased its daily and weekly newspapers in Northwest Arkansas to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since August 2000, when the companies struck a 10-year deal, according to Steve Trolinger, president of Community Publishers.
Trolinger said Friday he was surprised and disappointed when Walter E. Hussman Jr., owner of the Democrat-Gazette, exercised an option in June to end the alliance early by buying the two daily newspapers along with eight weekly newspapers. Hussman had the option to buy the papers at the end of the lease as well, Trolinger said.
"Of course, we had hoped that it would be 10 years out, not five years out, but that's not how it worked out," Trolinger said. "We were certainly satisfied with the alliance and certainly thought it was good for both sides."
Hussman said in a news release it was an economic decision.
"Community Publishers Inc. has been a great partner," Hussman said. "The reason to acquire their interest is solely an economic one. Since we repaid all our bank debt last year, we have been looking for more newspaper opportunities. We can't think of any place we would rather invest than in Northwest Arkansas."
Tom Stallbaumer, publisher of The Morning News, which is owned by Stephens Media Group, said he was unsure if the sale would have any effect on the area's newspaper competition.
"We always focus on our customers and our readers and our advertisers and providing a newspaper that suits their needs," Stallbaumer said.
He declined to talk about the newspaper's finances and declined to speculate on whether the deal could trigger an antitrust lawsuit, like the sale of the Times did a decade ago.
The transfer will take place Sept. 30, and until then Community Publishers will employ and manage the Times and Daily Record newsrooms, according to Trolinger. The Democrat-Gazette will take responsibility for those employees Oct. 1.
No changes are planned in either editions or staffing levels at any of the newspapers, according to the Democrat-Gazette press release. The Northwest Arkansas Times in Fayetteville, Benton County Daily Record in Bentonville and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest edition will continue to publish their own independent editorial pages directed by their respective editors, the release said.
Jeff Jeffus, publisher of the Northwest Arkansas Times and vice president of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest edition, will assume overall responsibility for all Northwest Arkansas publications. Kent Marts, editor of the Benton County Daily Record, will assume additional duties as vice president and general manager of the Daily Record.
Mike Brown, publisher of the Benton County Daily Record and a Community Publishers stockholder and executive vice president, will remain with the company, but resign as publisher, according to the company's release.
"We have enjoyed our association and partnership with Community Publishers Inc. Five years ago, both companies were losing money; today our combined operations are profitable," Jeffus said in the press release.
Jeffus and Brown did not return calls Friday afternoon. Hussman's office in Little Rock referred all inquiries to Jeffus.
The sale does not involve Community Publishers' other assets, with 10 daily and weekly newspaper holdings in Arkansas and Missouri.
Community Publishers was established by Wal-Mart heir Jim Walton and Trolinger in 1982 when they purchased the Benton County Daily Record, formerly known as the Benton County Daily Democrat, from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart originally used the paper to print its circulars.
"Jim Walton and I bought the Daily Record 23 years ago to make sure Bentonville had a strong local newspaper, and we think we've done that," Trolinger said.
The weekly newspapers involved in the sale are the Siloam Springs Herald Leader, Decatur Herald, Gentry Courier Journal, Gravette News Herald, Bella Vista Weekly Vista, Rogers Hometown News, Pea Ridge Times of Northeast Benton County and the Elkins White River Journal.
In 1995, the sale of the Times by then-owner Thompson Newspapers to a group of investors headed by the late Jack Stephens was rescinded after an antitrust lawsuit was filed by Community Publishers and joined by the U.S. Department of Justice. They argued the sale would have created a monopoly for Stephens because the Stephens family also owned Donrey Media, which published The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas. Donrey later became Stephens Media.
The sale came less than two months after Donrey merged the Northwest Arkansas Morning News of Rogers and the Morning News of Springdale to create The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas. The paper is now called The Morning News.
Thompson accepted a $22 million offer from Stephens' NAT L.C. group, rejecting a $14 million joint bid by Community Publishers and WEHCO Media, which publishes the Democrat-Gazette.
The late U.S. District Judge H. Franklin Waters ordered the sale rescinded, saying it would violate antitrust laws by lessening competition in the daily Northwest Arkansas newspaper market. Waters' ruling was upheld on appeal.
The Times was later sold by Thompson to American Publishing, which sold it to Community Publishers in 1999.
Jeff Smith contributed to this report.
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