Image courtesy Arizona Silver Belt
O ‘Rourke Media Group announced it will purchase the Arizona Silver Belt in Globe and the Lake Powell Chronicle in Page, two Arizona newspapers that were shuttered by the closing of operations by its former owner, News Media Corp., City Sun Times reported.
The sale should be finalized Aug. 31, according to the Aug. 21 story published on the website of City Sun Times, a Phoenix-area community newspaper that O’Rourke Media Group publishes. The purchase includes the Copper Country News in Gila County.
“We’re excited to welcome Tina Nixon and the team of employees and freelancers to O’Rourke Media Group,” Jim O’Rourke, CEO and owner, said in the City Sun Times story. “These are solid weekly newspapers serving great communities in Globe and Lake Powell. The Arizona Silver Belt has been the paper of record in Globe since 1878, and we look forward to keeping it going as we invest in people, the product and digital area of the business. This is also a great addition to our other local newspaper in the Phoenix area, the City Sun Times.”
News Media Corp. announced it would shut down Aug. 6. As a result, 31 newspapers in Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming ended operations. Currently, other publishers have bought or are attempting to buy Illinois-based News Media Corp.’s newspapers.
According to its website, Wisconsin-based O’Rourke Media Group is “a family-owned, diversified media company that was formed in 2018. Originally just a holding company that owned a few newspapers, O’Rourke Media Group has established itself as an industry-leading, digital media company comprising a cutting edge digital agency and an impressive group of award-winning, hyper-local print newspapers and niche magazines…. OMG now operates in eight states, 39 markets with over 55 publications and hyper-local websites.”
For more information, visit www.orourkemediagroup.com.
SPJ: Phoenix, Arizona Chapter 