Beaver Newspapers Inc. Buys 'The Ledger' of Ellwood City (Pa.)

By: (AP) Beaver Newspapers Inc. has purchased The Ledger of Ellwood City, officials said Friday.

Beaver Newspapers Inc., which is owned by Calkins Media in Tullytown, published its first edition of The Ledger, which had been owned by Citizens Publishing & Printing Co., on Friday.

Along with The Beaver County Times, Calkins also operates daily newspapers in Uniontown, Doylestown and Willingboro, N.J.; weekly newspapers in Waynesburg, Greene County and Homestead, Fla.; an ABC-affiliate television station in Sarasota, Fla.; and a commercial printing company in Pemberton, N.J.

"This purchase is different than what has been going on around the country, because we have one family-owned newspaper buying another family-owned newspaper," Beaver County Times' publisher Alan Buncher said. "Elsewhere, daily community newspapers are being gobbled up by big corporations; as a consequence, local communities lose their identities and voice."

The Beaver County Times plans to invest in the 5,600-circulation Ledger to expand news and advertising services. No layoffs are planned.

"Small-town daily newspapers are constantly facing ever-increasing costs based on the economy of scale," said W. Ryan Kegel, publisher of The Ledger. "Major investments are needed to keep a daily newspaper viable. We know the new owners are committed to making those kinds of investments, based on what they have done with other newspaper properties."

Will C. Kegel bought The Ledger in 1923 and served as editor and publisher from 1923 to 1942. From 1942 to 1967, his son, W.F. Kegel, served as editor and publisher. In 1967, W.C. Kegel, the third generation of the family, took over the operation and served as publisher from 1967 to 1991, when he retired, naming Ryan Kegel publisher and his brother, Scott R. Kegel, general manager.

"There are other newspaper companies that we would not consider selling this newspaper to," Ryan Kegel said. "But we know the Beaver County Times, and we know their products. They have been an admirable competitor for years."

"The Ledger has a rich history of service, and we look forward to continuing in that vein," said Shirley C. Ellis, one of the owners of Calkins Media. "Our family, like the Kegel family, has covered western Pennsylvania news for a long time, and we are so pleased to be able to continue those traditions with another fine newspaper."