Sycamore Media Acquires Iowa Newspapers

By: Press Release | Sycamore Media Corp.

Trevis Mayfield, president and majority owner of Sycamore Media Corp., has announced that the company has acquired a group of Iowa newspapers.

The newspapers, which were owned by the Melvold Family, are located just west of the Mississippi River. The Dewitt Observer and the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press publish twice a week, and The Bellevue Herald-Leader publishes weekly.

Mayfield is the former vice president of Shaw Media and publisher of Sauk Valley Media. He is joined in the venture by his wife Nancy.

The Melvold Family has a long and respected history in the Iowa newspaper industry, and we intend to continue their commitment to providing local news to the locations they have served so well for almost seven decades,” Mayfield said. “I believe in the strength of newspapers in small markets, and I feel strongly about the role they play in supporting a vibrant and healthy community.

The Melvolds have owned and operated community newspapers in eastern Iowa for more than 68 years, said Doug Melvold, publisher of the Sentinel-Press and Herald-Leader.

We welcome the Mayfields to eastern Iowa. They are experienced and dedicated to operating community newspapers in Iowa and the Midwest. We are confident they will maintain a commitment to providing the best in local news, information and advertising in these communities as well as being personally involved in the communities,” Melvold said.

Mayfield has been in the newspaper industry for almost 30 years, working up the ranks from a variety of newsroom positions. He began his career at his hometown newspaper in Sullivan, Ind. He also has worked for newspapers in Sumter, S.C.; Tampa, Fla.; Gary and Munster, Ind., before becoming publisher of the Tribune-Star in Terre Haute, Ind. in 1999. He left that position to join Shaw Media in 2005. He announced he was leaving Shaw in April to pursue new endeavors with his wife Nancy, also a journalist.

Robert and Frances Melvold purchased the Maquoketa Community Press on May 1, 1946. They acquired the competing Jackson Sentinel in 1952 and merged the two newspapers.

They purchased the DeWitt Observer in 1954 and the Bellevue Herald-Leader in 1972. Robert and Frances earlier had ownership interest in the weekly North Scott Press in Eldridge and the Galena, Ill., Gazette.

Robert’s and Frances’ sons Doug, John and R.B. and daughters-in-law Mary McAllister and Beth Melvold joined the business in the 1980s. Robert semi-retired in 1987 but remained active in the business until his death in October of 2005. Frances Melvold resides in Maquoketa, Iowa.