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September 29, 2005
All in the family
You may have read in yesterday’s paper that the Concord Monitor’s parent company, Newspapers of New England, Inc., is purchasing the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Mass., and the weekly Amherst (Mass.) Bulletin. What does this mean for Monitor readers?
My answer might differ somewhat from the one the owners and publisher of the Monitor would give, but here it is:
In a time when newspapers, including ours, are struggling to grow circulation and ad revenue, the expansion of Newspapers of New England is good news. It is evidence that the financial health of the company is strong. You don’t go into the marketplace and make a significant purchase if you are struggling.
The purchase is also a victory for the forces of community journalism. Profit is vital to any company's stability, but Newspapers of New England is not a bottom-line chain. It’s not a chain at all, really – it allows its papers great autonomy and retains the best traits of family newspaper ownership.
I’m certain the owners of the Daily Hampshire Gazette chose NNE as the buyer because they saw an affinity among the Gazette, the Monitor and other papers owned by NNE. I don’t know the sale price, but I’m guessing a lively, respected paper like the Gazette would have brought more on the open market than NNE paid for it.
One other thing Monitor readers might want to know about this purchase is that it reflects the optimism of the new guard at NNE.
We underwent big changes at the top after the retirement this past summer of George Wilson, the president of NNE for many years and the Monitor’s publisher for many years before that. Tom Brown, the Monitor’s publisher for the last 18 years, succeeded George as president of the parent company. George’s son Geordie is the new publisher of the Monitor. Aaron Julien, George’s son-in-law, recently joined NNE as a senior executive.
The purchase of the Gazette is a sign that the new generation of family leadership is doing what new generations are supposed to do: not just accepting the torch but also running with it.
No one knows the challenges the future holds, but the bet here is that Monitor readers – and readers of the Daily Hampshire Gazette and the Amherst Bulletin – can look ahead with confidence in their newspapers.
Posted by Mike Pride at September 29, 2005 10:06 AM
Comments
What a great opportunity to gather and publish news and commentary from several terrific newspapers via a news portal on the Web. I don't know what other multiple-newspaper companies do, but the future may see NNE putting the "best of the best" on its own Web site portal. P.S. I don't like the phrase "newspaper chain" because I'll never consider the Monitor part of some conglomerate, it's too personal a newspaper to be that. Best of luck to all from an avid reader in Tucson.
Posted by: Peter Bakke at October 11, 2005 07:42 PM