Freedom Communications
Freedom Communications, Inc., was an American
Ownership
Founder
On September 1, 2009, Freedom Communications went into a
The company announced on November 2, 2011 that it would sell its entire television division to Sinclair Broadcast Group in a move to eliminate the company's debt. The sale was completed on April 2, 2012.[6]
Freedom began selling the majority of its newspaper portfolio in 2012. Four papers in the Midwest were sold to Ohio Community Media, an affiliate of the private equity firm Versa Capital Management, in May.
On June 11, 2012, Freedom Communications Holdings, Inc., announced an agreement to be acquired by 2100 Trust, LLC. in a merger with a subsidiary of 2100 Trust. On July 25, 2012, the latter, led by entrepreneur Aaron Kushner, acquired Freedom's dailies, associated non-daily publications and digital properties. The company continued to operate under the name Freedom Communications.[12]
Kushner, who "preached the virtues of local journalism and a print product," bought Freedom in 2012 for $50 million plus assumption of pension liabilities. He increased staff and added new sections at the Orange County Register and began a new daily, the Long Beach Register. In January 2014, however, he announced heavy layoffs in Orange County and at the
Freedom closed the sale of The Gazette (Colorado Springs) to Clarity Media, a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation, on November 30, 2012.[17] In 2013, Freedom Communications sold the Yuma Sun and the Porterville Recorder to Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers and the Appeal-Democrat to Horizon Publications.[18][19] In 2014, Freedom sold the Daily Press and the Desert Dispatch to New Media Investment Group.[20]
On November 1, 2015, Freedom Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[21]
In January, Freedom closed several of its weekly papers in Orange County.
Leadership
Founder and chief executive officer
- D.R. Segal (1981–1992)
- James N. Rosse (1992–1999)
- Samuel C. Wolgemuth (1999–2002)
- Alan Bell (2002–2006)
- Scott N. Flanders (2006–2009)
- Burl Osborne (2009–2010)
- Mitchell Stern (2010–2012)
- Aaron Kushner (2012–2015)
- Rich Mirman (2015−2016)
Newspapers
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2014) |
Freedom's newspaper portfolio consists of:
|
|
Former television stations
Freedom folded its broadcast division in 2012;[6] as a result, none of these stations are currently owned by the company:
City of license / Market | Station | Years owned | Current ownership status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
West Palm Beach, FL | WPEC 1 | 12 (13) | 1996–2012 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
New Bedford, MA–Providence, RI | WLNE-TV | 6 (24) | 1982–2007 | ABC affiliate owned by Standard Media |
Kalamazoo–Grand Rapids, MI | WWMT | 3 (8) | 1998–2012 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
Lansing, MI | WLAJ | 53 (14) | 1998–2012 | ABC affiliate owned by Mission Broadcasting[a] |
Albany–Schenectady, NY | WRGB | 6 (35) | 1986–2012 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
WCWN | 45 (22) | 2006–2012 | The CW affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
Medford, OR | KTVL 2 | 10 (10) | 1981–2012 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
Chattanooga, TN | WTVC | 9 (9) | 1983–2012 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
Beaumont, TX | KFDM | 6 (21) | 1984–2012 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
- ^ Operated through SSA by Nexstar Media Group.
Notes:
- 1 Freedom's flagship station
- 2 Freedom's first television property
References
- ^ "Coast Magazine". Orange County Register. 19 June 2020.
- ^ Rem Rieder, USA Today 8:11 p.m. EDT June 25, 2013 (2013-06-25). "One newspaper cuts to survive; another invests to thrive". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Archives". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Peter Lattman; Russell Adams (August 31, 2009). "Paper Owner Freedom Plans to File For Chapter 11". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ de la Merced, Michael (2009-09-01). "Freedom Communications Files for Bankruptcy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ Orange County Register. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
- ^ "Freedom Communications sells 4 Midwest papers". May 17, 2012.
- ^ "OCM purchases the Lima News". Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ^ "Freedom Communications Announces Sale Of Clovis, NM, News Journal to Clovis Media Inc". Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ^ "AIM Media Texas, LLC acquires Texas newspapers". Archived from the original on 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ^ "Freedom announces sale of Florida, N.C. properties to Halifax Media Group". Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ^ "2100 Trust buys Daily Press parent company". Victorville Daily Press. July 25, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ a b "Dozens laid off at Freedom papers". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 2014.
- ^ Khouri, Andrew (September 23, 2014). "Freedom Newspapers Ceases Publication of L.A. Register". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ^ Pfeifer, Stuart; Khouri, Andrew (December 28, 2014). "Long Beach Register stops publishing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-12-30.
- ^ Avery, Greg (November 30, 2012). "Anschutz buys Colorado Springs Gazette". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ "Yuma Sun under new ownership". Archived from the original on 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ "Sales of four north-valley newspapers announced". Archived from the original on 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
- ^ Register, Mary Ann Milbourn | Orange County (March 3, 2014). "Register owner sells Victorville, Barstow newspapers".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Chapter 11 Petition" (PDF). PacerMonitor. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ "OC Register To Cut a Bunch of Community Weeklies, Among Other Belt-Tightening Moves". OC Weekly. 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ Talking New Media blog: "Bankruptcy judge approves Digital First Media purchase of Freedom Communications assets", by D.B. Hebbard21 March 2016.
- ^ LA Observed blog: "Memo: LA News Group now So Cal News Group", by Kevin Roderick, 21 March 2016.
- Orange County Register, January 21, 2014.
- ^ Radio, Southern California Public (February 12, 2014). "OC Register parent to expand into Palm Springs (updated)". Southern California Public Radio.
- Orange County Business Journal, March 7, 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Media General Puts 31 Papers, Including 13 in County, Up for Sale
- ^ "OC Register Ramps Up Newport Beach, Costa Mesa Coverage". Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ^ a b DiMartino, Mediha (2014-05-30). "Sources Say Freedom to Furlough Staff, Trim Long Beach to Weekly Schedule". Orange County Business Journal. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ^ Register Parent Buys 3 Weekly Newspapers
- ^ "Irvine World News officially becomes daily newspaper". July 22, 2013.
- ^ "La Habra, Brea Papers Purchased". Archived from the original on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2017-07-06.