AURORA | The National News Trust for Local News has sold 21 local newspapers to Arizona-based Times Media Group for an undisclosed sum, splitting the chain of 28 newspapers into two groups run by two entities.
“While it wasn’t an easy decision, we think it’s a positive outcome from all perspectives that sets the stage for a more resilient, equitable, and vibrant media ecosystem in the state,” Will Nelligan, chief growth officer at the National Trust for Local News, said in a statement to Colorado Community Media.
Officials from both CCM and TMG said staff were offered positions with the two companies.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Titles sold to the TMG include iconic local papers such as The Arvada Press, The Douglas County News Press, The Littleton Independent and the Parker Chronical.
The National Trust will continue publishing seven publications, including the Evergreen Canyon Courier, the Golden Transcript and the Brighton Standard Blade.
CCM reported Wednesday that the Trust will continue operating a new printing plant opened just last year in Aurora to help address a shortage of newspaper press capacity in the region.
“We couldn’t be more excited to serve the communities in Colorado,” Steve Strickbine, president and founder of Times Media Group told CCM reporters, as published Wednesday. “We know how much community news means in this state, and we understand the terrific legacy created over the years by these publications and their teams. This partnership is a good fit for Times Media Group and the National Trust for Local News. I look forward to the great journalism ahead and the new ways we’ll create for our advertisers to reach their customers and clients.”
The National Trust for Local News acquired Colorado Community Media in 2021 after a sale by former owner Jerry Healey. Many of the newspapers were part of the former Sentinel Newspaper group, created first by Time Life in the 1970s and then expanded by the Minnesota Star Tribune company through the 1980s. The Aurora Sentinel was previously a part of that group.
The Trust, a national organization created to preserve local news entitites, bought the chain, and together with the Colorado Sun, set it on a new course.
“Leadership told employees that The Trust was approached by Times Media Group in recent months and discovered the company shared its mission of preserving and growing local news,” CCM reported Tuesday.