DAYTONA BEACH — New Media Investment Group Inc. completed its purchase Friday of Halifax Media Group, which owned The Panama City News Herald and 35 other newspapers across the country.
Kirk Davis, CEO of GateHouse Media LLC, a subsidiary of publicly traded New Media, said that with the purchase GateHouse Media will operate newspapers in 27 states, reaching about 14 million people monthly. GateHouse Media plans to build upon Halifax Media’s success, Davis said.
“We view the transaction as transformational for us,” he said. “These are wonderful properties that will vastly expand our audience and provide us with an opportunity to launch a full suite of digital marketing opportunities throughout the entire Southeast.”
Readers can expect quality and community-minded journalism to continue under the new leadership, News Herald Editor Mike Cazalas said.
“Under GateHouse, The News Herald’s daily commitment to covering the local news that affects our readers will continue,” Cazalas said. “In fact, we expect it to grow.”
New Media is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States with 450 community publications and more than 370 related websites.
New Media has been actively acquiring newspapers, having spent about $430 million on local media assets in a little over one year, including the Halifax deal. In 2013, it added the Dow Jones Local Media Group of eight dailies and 15 weeklies to its lineup and acquired the Providence (Rhode Island) Journal this past year.
The News Herald, along with the Northwest Florida Daily News and eight Panhandle weeklies — in Port St. Joe, Apalachicola, Chipley, Bonifay, Destin, Walton County, Milton and Crestview — have been the region’s news source since the early 1900s.
GateHouse Media plans to continue that tradition, Davis said.
“We deeply value the local judgment and tradition that our newspapers have had and how they have emphasized their role in the community,” he said. “We provide a lot of local autonomy to publishers and editors to exercise their best judgment.”
Halifax Media Group acquired The News Herald and its sister papers in Northwest Florida in 2012. Halifax Media Group was created by investment partners Stephens Capital Partners Inc., JAARSSS Media, and Redding Investments.
After the initial purchase of The Daytona Beach News-Journal in 2010, Halifax Media acquired The New York Times Regional Media Group, a network of about 15 newspapers and websites primarily in the Southeast. Within a year, Halifax Media bought an additional 19 newspapers from Freedom Communications, located in North Carolina and Northwest Florida. Recently, Halifax added the Daily Commercial (Leesburg, Florida), South Lake Press (Clermont, Florida) and Worcester Telegram and Gazette in central Massachusetts.
Halifax Media Group CEO Michael Redding and Ron Mayo, chief financial officer, will be leaving with the sale, and all other employees will be receiving offers of employment with GateHouse, Davis said.
