The Chronicle-Telegram and Medina Gazette acquired by MediaNews Group

We wanted, and sought, an experienced new owner with a proven track record of successfully running news operations for the benefit of the communities they serve. We found in MediaNews Group a talented management team with decades of experience in local news, an important factor in our decision.”

Bill Hudnutt, president and publisher of Lorain County Printing and Publishing

ELYRIA, Ohio — After nearly a century of family ownership, Lorain County Printing and Publishing has reached an agreement to sell The Chronicle-Telegram and The Medina Gazette to MediaNews Group, the nation’s largest private operator of newspapers according to John Cribb, Cribb & Associates who represented the Hudnutt family, owners of LCPP.

“For nearly 100 years, The Chronicle-Telegram has been inseparable from our family’s story. We are enormously proud of that history, and there simply are not enough words to describe what this newspaper has meant to our family,” said Bill Hudnutt, president and publisher of Lorain County Printing and Publishing.

“We wanted, and sought, an experienced new owner with a proven track record of successfully running news operations for the benefit of the communities they serve. We found in MediaNews Group a talented management team with decades of experience in local news, an important factor in our decision. Their experience includes managing daily papers in New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Orlando, as well as having a major Ohio Presence with The Morning Journal in Lorain and The News-Herald in Willoughby.”

The Chronicle-Telegram traces its roots in Elyria to 1829. The Elyria Chronicle began publishing in 1901 and the Elyria Telegram in 1907, with the two merging in 1919 to become The Chronicle-Telegram. A.C. Hudnutt became sole owner in 1927, beginning nearly a century of Hudnutt family ownership.

Hudnutt said his family are grateful to the generations of employees, carriers, readers, advertisers, contributors and community partners who have supported the newspapers throughout the family’s ownership.

“Our family will always be grateful to the employees, carriers, readers, advertisers, contributors and community partners who have made these newspapers what they are,” Hudnutt said. “There is much more I could say about what this place and these communities have meant to our family and to me personally. Today, I simply want to say thank you.”

“I am confident that The Chronicle-Telegram and The Medina Gazette, even though under new ownership, will continue to be two of the finest community newspapers in the United States,” Hudnutt said in his statement.

Lorain County Printing & Publishing and the Hudnutt family were represented by John Cribb of Cribb & Associates. C&A is the oldest newspaper brokerage, consulting and appraisal firm in the United States.

About MediaNews Group:

MediaNews Group (MNG) is the largest private operator of newspapers in the United States, with a multi-platform portfolio of more than 235 local media publications, including The Denver Post, The Mercury News, The Orange County Register and the Boston Herald. Since 1846, readers have relied on MNG to keep them informed and connected to their communities, and the company remains committed to delivering award-winning local journalism through its diverse array of trusted titles. For more information, please visit medianewsgroup.com.