Eight community newspapers in North Carolina and Ohio will shut down in August because they aren't considered rural enough to fit the business model of Civitas Media, a community news company formed in September 2012 by the merger of Freedom Central, Heartland Publications, Impressions Media, and Ohio Community Media.
Newspapers closing are Ohio's Kettering-Oakwood Times, the Centerville-Washington Township Times and Springboro Sun, and North Carolina's Apex Herald, the Holly Springs Sun, the Garner News, the Cleveland Post and the Fuquay-Varina Independent.
Civitas CEO Michael Bush said, “Our core business is focused on developing community news and information portals, in areas that are predominately rural and would not be served well otherwise. The suburban newspaper isn’t a fit in this business model. We have offered employment in the Civitas Media organization to the 12 employees who are being affected by this decision.”
Scott Champion, chief operating officer, said no new owners will take up ownership of the papers, Thomas Gnau reports for the Dayton Daily News. Champion told Gnau, “It’s economic reasons,” and Champion and Bush both referred further questions to the statement. The company is based in Davidson, N.C., and has 15 papers in the state, soon to be 10.
Last year Civitas executives hinted at company-wide operational streamlining, but at the time, Bush said the company had no plans to cut any of its daily publications, Thompson Wall reports for the Triangle Business Journal in the Raleigh/Durham area. (Read more)
Newspapers closing are Ohio's Kettering-Oakwood Times, the Centerville-Washington Township Times and Springboro Sun, and North Carolina's Apex Herald, the Holly Springs Sun, the Garner News, the Cleveland Post and the Fuquay-Varina Independent.
Civitas CEO Michael Bush said, “Our core business is focused on developing community news and information portals, in areas that are predominately rural and would not be served well otherwise. The suburban newspaper isn’t a fit in this business model. We have offered employment in the Civitas Media organization to the 12 employees who are being affected by this decision.”
Scott Champion, chief operating officer, said no new owners will take up ownership of the papers, Thomas Gnau reports for the Dayton Daily News. Champion told Gnau, “It’s economic reasons,” and Champion and Bush both referred further questions to the statement. The company is based in Davidson, N.C., and has 15 papers in the state, soon to be 10.
Last year Civitas executives hinted at company-wide operational streamlining, but at the time, Bush said the company had no plans to cut any of its daily publications, Thompson Wall reports for the Triangle Business Journal in the Raleigh/Durham area. (Read more)
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