Community Publishers buys Missouri newspapers
by January 11, 1999 12:00 am 92 views
Community Publishers Inc. is expanding into Missouri with the purchase of three weekly newspapers in the Springfield area.
Steve Trolinger, president of CPI, says the purchase of Sterling Media Ltd. should be completed by month’s end. Sterling Media’s holdings include the Stockton Republican, the Buffalo Reflex and the Bolivar Herald-Free Press. Their combined paid circulation is about 15,500. No purchase price was announced.
As a result of the purchase, Bentonville-based CPI will have a total of 10 newspapers including the Benton County Daily Record. CPI’s majority stockholder is Jim Walton, son of Wal-Mart Stores’ founder Sam Walton.
Trolinger says the Bolivar Herald-Free Press is Sterling’s flagship newspaper. It has consistently earned top honors among Missouri weeklies for the past several years, he says.
Dave Berry, Sterling’s publisher, will become vice president of CPI’s new Missouri division.