Ogden Newspapers to acquire KPC Media from Witwer family

 PRESS RELEASE | CRIBB, COPE & POTTS

Ogden Newspapers, through its partnership with Journal Gazette Co. in the Fort Wayne Newspapers company, has entered into an agreement to purchase KPC Media, according to Randy Cope of Cribb, Cope & Potts, who represents the Witwer family, owner of KPC Media. The sale is expected to close later this month, and terms were not disclosed.

The KPC Indiana publications to be included in the proposed sale are The News Sun, Kendallville; The Star, Auburn; The Herald Republican, Angola; The Post and Mail, Columbia City; The Garrett Clipper, Garrett; Albion New Era, Albion; Churubusco News, Churubusco; Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, Fort Wayne, Indiana/Fort Wayne Community Newspapers (including The Aboite News, The Northwest News, and The New Haven News), KPC Phone Books and Directories, as well as commercial printing, specialty publishing, KPC Direct, Digital Services, and their Events division.

Editors and reporters with the KPC publications in northeast Indiana will continue to work in and serve their communities from their individual markets, said Cameron Nutting Williams, vice president and CRO of The Ogden Newspapers. Williams also serves as the vice president of America’s Newspapers, the industry’s leading association.

Ogden will build on the legacy of the Witwer family, Williams said, which for 50 years owned and operated KPC publications. Following the ownership change, the newspapers will remain the trusted and independent source of local news, sports, opinion and entertainment serving residents and businesses in northeast Indiana.

“We are proud to be continuing the Witwer family’s legacy of strong, community-based journalism,” Williams said. “We hope to honor and build on their legacy well into the future by continuing to publish — both in print and on our digital media platforms community-centric newspapers that cover the issues most important to the residents.”

“With Fort Wayne Newspapers at the helm, Northeast Indiana can count on continuing the long tradition of journalism-based public service in the years to come,” said Richard Stolz, KPC Media’s president.

Calling KPC publications “a critical resource for the communities they serve,” Williams  said, “we are pleased to be continuing the excellent stewardship of KPC Media.”

“We continue to believe very strongly in the power of publications such as The News Sun and the other KPC Media publications and their role in informing their communities with trusted local news. We believe in their value to readers, advertisers and communities. We believe that strong, responsible and connected local publications are critically important to building and supporting communities, now more than ever,” she said.

Fort Wayne Newspapers is a partnership between The News Publishing Co., owned by The Ogden Newspapers of Wheeling, West Virginia, and the locally owned Journal Gazette Co. 

Fort Wayne Newspapers operates Fortwayne.com, publishes Fort Wayne Magazine and is the business agent for The Journal Gazette newspaper. The Journal Gazette newsroom operates independently of Fort Wayne Newspapers, and the new KPC acquisitions will operate separately and independently from The Journal Gazette.

Lou Phelps, managing partner of Phelps, Cutler & Associates of Savannah, Georgia, advised the Witwer family in the transaction.

Randy Cope, director, Cribb, Cope & Potts, represents the Witwer family. Cribb, Cope & Potts is a leading merger and acquisition firm with offices in Arkansas, California and Montana.