When reports started circulating that another entrepreneur/billionaire was actively purchasing local newspapers and investing in others, many in the news industry were concerned that more newsrooms would be gutted, all in pursuit of profits over quality news coverage. There’s no need to worry. David Hoffmann, a Naples, Florida businessman and philanthropist, fully supports local news because he believes residents of those communities deserve better news coverage — especially local sports.
Hoffmann has been successful because of his savvy acquisition of a diversity of businesses, from a ferry service in Michigan to the Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida. Collectively, The Hoffmann Family of Companies encompasses 110 brands in 30 countries with approximately 11,000 employees working in 400 global locations.
After astutely observing the developments in the news industry for many years, Hoffmann started building his portfolio of news outlets under the Hoffmann Media Group umbrella. Today, that includes 19 publications in 30 markets. In July 2022, the group purchased Florida Media Group from J. Pason Gaddis, who founded the company in 2007. Gaddis subsequently became the managing partner and CEO of Hoffmann Media Group.
In addition to those six publications, the Hoffmann Media Group also acquired the Ave Maria Sun (Southwest Florida), Florida Health Care News, St. Ignace News (Michigan) and the Mackinac Island (Michigan) Town Crier. In September 2024, Napa Valley Publishing Company (California) was added to the portfolio, which includes the Napa Valley Register and St. Helena Star.
“While spending more time with David, I learned he has an affinity for community journalism. He’s from a small town in Central Missouri, and many of his business connections were through the community newspaper. As we started to discuss the industry and our business model, he was perplexed by news voids, closures and consolidations in hometown newspapers,” Gaddis said.
Although Hoffmann Media Group’s initial acquisitions of newspapers were small and local, the company’s aspirations became much bigger in the latter half of 2024. In a series of stock purchases, the company acquired a 9% stake in Lee Enterprises, the second-largest newspaper group, and a 5% stake in The Dallas Morning News. Plans for additional acquisitions put Hoffmann Media Group on course to replace Lee in the #2 position in the next two years.
“We see value in the market capitalization and assets of these companies and the business value of the industry as being somewhat right sized. Fortunately, or unfortunately, these companies haven’t been tasked with the painful reduction of the legacy infrastructure in many of the dailies across the country. Where they’re on that path of their journey determines what we’re willing to pay for these assets. There is currently plenty of deal flow and opportunity. We see it as a critical inflection point of where the industry is headed,” Gaddis said.
Hoffmann Media Group is also actively pursuing private acquisitions. According to Gaddis, these include smaller, family-owned media companies that the youngest generation isn’t interested in continuing family ownership or facing financial difficulties. The company’s success with its current portfolio of newspapers has convinced Hoffmann management that it can guide future acquisitions to consistent profitability while maintaining journalistic integrity.
Gaddis added that large real estate assets and printing facilities hamper many local newspapers’ profitability. Back-office operations can be more efficient with today’s technologies, and those cost reductions can be reinvested into the news product.
“You walk into most newsrooms and their offices and facilities on any given day, and the staff occupies approximately 20% of the space because many work from home. Large real estate footprints are no longer relevant. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, are being spent on them annually. Online content is more of a 24/7 breaking-news asset, so the legacy print product could easily be consolidated to regional print facilities and transported into the delivery system,” Gaddis said.
Giving local publishers autonomy and fiscal responsibility to improve revenues
Giving its local publishers more autonomy and profit & loss (P&L) responsibility is another Hoffmann Media Group management strategy to improve revenues that can be reinvested in staff, facilities and news products. Although this may seem novel to some, according to Gaddis, this is how newspapers were run for decades before consolidation and hedge funds entered the industry.
“Our publishers are vested in the P&L success. They run these operations as if they’re owners and think like owners. They live in the local community, understand it and can address operational issues. That’s the Hoffmann way. That’s how he built his success: identifying talent and giving that talent a stake in the business they’re overseeing and ultimately running,” Gaddis said.
Two examples of how Hoffmann Media Group has identified talent are Dan Evans, group publisher of the Napa Valley Register and St. Helena Star, and Kim Ruley, group publisher of the St. Ignace News and Mackinac Island Town Crier.
Evans’ two-decade career in journalism and newsroom management includes working for the Los Angeles Times, Lee Enterprises and other media organizations. He is particularly focused on developing digital initiatives to expand audience reach. Ruley has had many roles at the two Michigan newspapers for 12 years. Initially a graphic designer, she was eventually promoted to the print shop manager.
Because of their experience, Evans and Ruley have more local autonomy, both editorially and fiscally, than many local news outlets owned by a large corporation. Hoffmann and Gaddis understand that local publishers know their markets, readers and advertisers best, and give them the latitude to operate as local conditions require.
“This is my first foray into overseeing the P&L and the entire business operations. It’s a big step for me. Currently, I’m on a learning curve to understand the advertising systems; the ad rep's needs, wants and concerns; how our circulation system works; basic office maintenance and all the different responsibilities I didn’t have previously,” Evans said.
Evans discovered just how much autonomy he had when he first asked Gaddis for permission to allocate travel expenses for a photographer to cover the local high school football team in the state championship. Evans’ experience, and that of many editors, was always to receive approval for such expenditures.
“I said to Dan, ‘I don’t even know why you’d ask.’ This is a small community with the team in the state championship. Limiting news of such importance to the community is one reason the news industry faces so many challenges. The analytics and readership of the coverage in both the print edition and on the Napa Valley Register website were incredibly high because Dan had a photographer there,” Gaddis said.
When the previous owner of the two Michigan newspapers had to spend less time with the two newspapers because of family health issues, Ruley was given day-to-day operational control. With her experience, she understands the geographical challenges of the two newspapers. St. Ignace is at the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island is approximately six miles to the east across the waters of Lake Huron. A quick boat trip is required to deliver the printed Town Crier. Ruley makes the trip often to visit the big hotels, restaurants and other businesses that rely on the newspapers’ advertising and boost the newspapers’ revenues during the tourist season.
“When the previous owner and I initially met with the Hoffmann Media Group’s executive team, it had a different feel. Pason has been adamant about local autonomy, leading and giving direction when needed. Other than that, we’re taking our cues from our readership and communities and making the decisions on what we cover, print and publish,” Ruley said.
Making strategic changes to increase readership
Hoffmann Media Group is also committed to the continuity of the newspapers’ look and content mix while carefully considering changes to enhance local coverage, drive readership and advertising revenues and provide more opportunities for journalists.
The Napa Valley Register was a traditional daily newspaper that was home-delivered and then migrated to an online presence. During its ownership, Lee Enterprises reduced the printed newspaper to three days a week, delivered by mail. The e-editions were published on the opposite days, but all the content was an AP package. Gaddis suggested Evans conduct a survey of the Register’s readers to determine if the AP content was valuable to them.
“Overwhelming, everyone responding to the survey said they didn’t want the AP content. They want to know what’s occurring in the high schools, the school board, local government and local growth and development. They also said they wanted 24/7 online access to local coverage and a much broader package,” Gaddis said.
Gaddis and Evans decided to adjust the Register to one weekly mailed print edition and remove all the AP content. That change allowed for the addition of another reporter to cover local schools. The print edition is now on a high-grade newsprint, and the content will feature more in-depth reporting.
The two Michigan newspapers are also being refreshed without detracting from the traditional connection between them and the local readers and communities. The paper is now printed at a standard size compared to the previous larger size, which was becoming more difficult to find.
“The cool part is all the pages are printed in color. Before, an advertiser had to spend a good extra chunk of cash for color ads. Now color is included. I’m also asking our reporters to think a bit more deliberately about their photos, so they convey a story. Those photos now appear in color, instead of black and white, in both the print edition and online,” Ruley said.
More reporters and local sports coverage is a huge priority for Hoffmann Media Group. Local publishers are posting videos to their websites in real time. Large photos of star athletes or major team accomplishments are being displayed in a magazine-style format, similar to Sports Illustrated.
“David views local sports coverage as incredibly important but there is a huge void in prep sports in the news industry. The kids in the high schools, scoring the big touchdown or the overtime-winning basketball shot, deserve having reporters there and capturing those moments in a way that you just can’t do on social media. That’s very meaningful,” Gaddis said.
All indications are that Hoffmann Media Group has the financial assets to continue its strategic acquisitions and a winning philosophy and management style to give local community news outlets a new life and new opportunities to succeed. It’s a positive story to follow.
Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010. He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.
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