The Boulder Daily Camera and Longmont Times-Call are reporting that the Camera’s parent company, Prairie Mountain Publishing, has acquired Lehman Communications, which publishes the Times-Call and several other publications in the area.
According to an article in the Times-Call, that newspaper’s employees were notified of the sale this morning during a meeting with William Dean Singleton, executive chairman of MediaNews Group, of which Prairie Mountain Publishing is a subsidiary. MediaNews Group publishes the Denver Post and more than 50 other newspapers in 12 states.
“The day of the stand-alone newspaper probably isn’t long for the world,” Singleton was quoted as telling about 75 employees at the meeting. “Newspapers have to group together to stay vibrant and that’s part of what’s happening now.”
In addition to the Times-Call, Lehman Communications also publishes
the Loveland Reporter-Herald, the Cañon City Record and Colorado
Hometown Weekly. Lehman also operates a printing center in Berthoud.
The Times-Call reported that Dean Lehman, currently the paper’s
president and editor, will continue as publisher, while his father,
current publisher Ed Lehman, will remain as “editor emeritus.”
The newspaper also reported that Singleton said there would be no other immediate staff changes, and that the Lehman papers would continue to operate independently of the other Prairie Mountain newspapers, which include the Colorado Daily and the Estes Park Trail-Gazette.
According to the Times-Call, the deal is expected to close at the end of January.
Daily Camera Publisher Al Manzi and Dean Lehman didn’t immediately return calls requesting comment.
MediaNews Group has a reputation for buying up newspapers in a single area and consolidating staff and operations to save costs.
According to the Times-Call, Singleton said that while content is shared among local papers like the Camera and the Colorado Daily, decisions on what stories reporters pursue and what editorial stance the papers take are entirely up to the editors.
