Dow Jones Looking to Sell/Swap Six Ottaway Dailies

By: E&P Staff Dow Jones & Co. said Monday it is exploring "value-creating alternatives" for six of its Ottaway community group dailies, including outright sales or swaps for other community papers.

"The purpose of the transaction would be to raise cash to repay debt and for investment in the Company's current businesses as well as utilize approximately $155 million of capital loss tax carry-forwards which expire at Dec. 31, 2006," the company said in a statement.

The six papers possibly facing the auction block are The News-Times in Danbury, Conn.; The Daily Star in Oneonta, N.Y.; the Press-Republican in Plattsburgh, N.Y.; the Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel; The Daily Item in Sunbury, Penn.; and Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle.

While a geographically diverse collection, the newspapers are close to papers owned by such acquisitive chains as MediaNews Group, Gannett Co., and GateHouse Media, which recently moved its headquarters to upstate New York.

Dow Jones added that "There can be no assurance that any transaction will take place or whether all of these newspapers would be involved."

It released no other details of the possible sales or swaps.