Hearst To Manage 3 MediaNews Dailies -- Buys 'Connecticut Post'

By: E&P Staff Any doubt that the Hearst Co., was distancing itself from MediaNews Group can be put to rest, at least for now.

Hearst decided to purchase the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport and seven weekly newspapers from MediaNews -- and is assuming the management of three Connecticut dailies operated by the Denver-based company, The Advocate in Stamford, Greenwich Time, and The News-Times of Danbury.

MediaNews Group purchased the assets of the Danbury paper in March 2007 and later that year picked up the Greenwich and Stamford newspapers from the Tribune Co., in a complex agreement with Hearst.

"This transaction allows MediaNews to manage it balance sheet during challenging economic environment and transfer ownership of the Connecticut Post to a company we admire," Joseph Lodovic, president of MediaNews, said in a statement.

Hearst purchased the following weeklies: Darien News-Review, Greenwich Citizen, Fairfield Citizen News, New Canaan News-Review, New Milford Spectrum, Norwalk Citizen-News, and Westport News.

"The Connecticut Post has a long and rich history, and Hearst is committed to continuing that tradition," George B. Irish, president of Hearst Newspapers, said in a statement.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.