September 1, 2023
(press release)
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CherryRoad Media has acquired eight community newspapers in Ohio and Indiana and a commercial print operation from Delphos Herald, Inc. and the Cohen family. Most of these newspapers date to the mid- to late 1800s, with more than 150 years of history serving their respective communities. Dirks, Van Essen & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented Delphos Herald, Inc. and the Cohen family in the transaction. Terms were not disclosed. Six of the newspapers are clustered in Northwestern Ohio and based in the city of Delphos. These titles include the Delphos Herald, Van Wert Times Bulletin, the Putnam County Sentinel, the Paulding Progress, the Ada Herald, and the Putnam County Vidette. The acquisition also includes the Monroe County Beacon, a stand-alone weekly and shopper located in Woodsfield in eastern Ohio. The Delphos Herald was Murray Cohen’s first acquisition and the base of his Northwest Ohio group. He also built a commercial offset printing plant, Eagle Print, across the street from the Delphos Herald corporate headquarters. Eagle Print provides offset printing and related services to internal customers and commercial customers throughout Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, and Kentucky. The Register is the title acquired in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The Register serves communities on the west side of Ohio River – Lawrenceburg, Aurora, and Rising Sun – as well as Harrison, Ohio, located just over the state line. “I appreciate the fantastic job our staffs do, telling the stories of the people who live and work in their local communities,” said Roberta Cohen, President of Delphos Herald, Inc. “Our flagship newspaper, The Delphos Herald, has been publishing continuously since 1869 and my father, Murray Cohen, purchased this newspaper in 1962. It has been in our family ever since. I feel confident that I can entrust our long-held newspapers to a company that shares the same vision and values that my sister Jennifer Shneiderman and I have and that my father had. Family-held CherryRoad is well-suited to take over the reins immediately and continue my family’s legacy. I’m excited to work with them on the transiting ownership while maintaining the journalism excellence that readers and advertisers have come to expect.” “We are excited to be acquiring these publications with such a rich history,” said Jeremy Gulban, CEO of CherryRoad Media. “These are great communities and high-quality newspapers. We are also committed to running and expanding the printing operations in Delphos. While the newspaper industry looks to embrace the digital future, we realize there is a need to keep printing newspapers. This facility in Delphos will allow us to run a stable printing operation in Northwest Ohio for the long term. Thank you to the Cohen family for entrusting us with continuing to serve these communities.”
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