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The sale of Stephens Media, owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was one of those surprises that most saw coming.
As leadership changed and strategies unfolded, it certainly looked like the company was positioning itself to be attractive to a buyer.
New Media Investments has been buying or investing in scads of papers across the country, as you can see from its portfolio. I see Stockton and Ridgecrest in California, and the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill., where I used to work.
This story in Arkansas Business notes that Warren Stephens sold another chain, Halifax Media, to New Media last year.
New Media (NEWM) is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It operates in 370 markets in 27 states, and is one of the largest in the country based on the number of publications. As you can see from the portfolio, many of those papers are in small towns.
Though the sale of the Las Vegas Review-Journal seemed imminent, staff members apparently got little advance warning. So far, there have been no announcements concerning staff changes.
New Media is scheduled to release its fourth quarter and full year 2014 financial results on Feb. 26 and host a conference call that day.