Columbus Dispatch sold

Saw on the twitterz that GateHouse/ New Media bought the Columbus Dispatch for an undisclosed amount of money today.

Don't have a link though.

Any thoughts from Buckeye land?

 

Columbus Dispatch print products sold to New Media Investment Group | The Columbus Dispatch

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

 

GateHouse.

 

I don't work there or live in Columbus, but I've always been impressed with the Dispatch when I see it. They've managed to keep good content even after their switch to tabloid a couple of years ago. They produce some solid journalism and have great writers. And the ThisWeek papers they have in the suburbs have good quality. I was under the impression the papers made nice money.

I hope they are able to maintain the quality and staffing they've enjoyed, but I'm fearful for them. Didn't GateHouse just gut a bunch papers earlier this year, like Sarosta Florida or something? Too many Ohio papers (Cincinnati, Dayton) have been gutted in the last decade and are a shell of their former selves. I hope the Dispatch won't suffer the same fate.

 

Good luck, Columbus friends.

 

The Wolfe family will keep its TV and radio properties, along with Ohio News Network

 

And that's why I don't understand the deal, unless they were really taking a bath on the Dispatch and the weekly papers. I'd have to think the broadcast properties are on the market, too, no matter what's being said publicly.

 

On Day 2 of full GateHouse control, Managing Editor Ben Marrison is out.

 

And at 52, a tough, in-between age to get a replacement-level gig.

 

Was afraid of this when the sale was announced. Marrison is a top-notch newspaperman. I wish him the best.

 

GateHouse bought Stephens Media, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in March, and is laying off virtually every designer in the building in July. All design and much of the copy editing will be done by its regional editing center in Austin, Texas. If you're on the desk in Columbus, make sure your resume is updated.

 

Marrison was good for that joint. A lot of the sports staffers (all good guys by the way) mostly have been there for 20-30-plus years and make good money. My guess is GateHouse is gonna offer buyouts and they take them because most of those guys probably are not gonna want to hang around. Just a guess.