News-Gazette Media selling to Champaign Multimedia Group

News-Gazette Media (Champaign, Illinois) is being sold to family-owned Champaign Multimedia Group, an affiliate company of Community Media Group, the News-Gazette reported.

The sale is expected to close in November.

CMG, based in West Frankfort, Illinois, owns and operates community papers in several Midwestern states, including Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, as well as newspapers in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York.

The purchase of News-Gazette Media will include three Illinois radio stations: WDWS, WHMS and WKIO, along with weekly newspapers, free-distribution shoppers and websites serving Mahomet, Rantoul, Ford County, Piatt County and Vermilion County, said News-Gazette Media CEO John Reed, the paper reported.

As part of the sale process, News-Gazette Media filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, the News-Gazette said. Staff was provided with formal notice of a possible layoff planned to happen in the 14-day period starting Oct. 31.

CMG indicated that it’s working on plans to rehire a number of News-Gazette Media employees after the sale, the paper said.

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