T&G sold to Fla.-based media group

John Henry, who bought The Boston Globe and the Telegram & Gazette last year, has sold the T&G to a Florida-based media group.

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By Rick Saia

The leading daily newspaper in Central Massachusetts will soon have its third owner in less than a year.

The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester is being sold to Halifax Media Group of Daytona Beach Fla., the company announced Wednesday. The closing date for the newspaper, as well as its website, has not been announced, Halifax said in a statement. However, the T&G reported that the deal is expected to close by June 1 after the T&G reduces its 180-person staff by an undisclosed number.

Halifax owns 35 newspapers, most of them in the Southeast. This is its first acquisition in New England.

The T&G, along with The Boston Globe, was sold by The New York Times Co. to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry last year. While Henry is keeping the Globe, he told T&G staffers that the Worcester properties were not part of his long-term plans and that they would be sold.

However, he said he preferred to sell to a locally based owner. "I think it's important for the T&G to be under local ownership," Henry reportedly told T&G staffers when he met with them in November. "I have been talking to local people who have expressed an interest."

Although there was reportedly local interest, Henry, in the end, went in a different direction.

"The Telegram & Gazette is an essential part of central Massachusetts, and Halifax recognizes that," Boston Globe CEO Mike Sheehan said in a statement distributed by Halifax. "They understand the Worcester market, and bring the passion and commitment needed to preserve the T&G’s traditions and build for the future."

Dan Kennedy, assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern University, wishes Henry had followed through with either selling to local buyers or keeping the paper himself.

“I'm disappointed that he chose to sell to an out-of-state chain, but I hope Halifax will prove to be a good owner,” Kennedy wrote in an email.

Halifax was founded in 2010 and its investment group includes Stephens Capital Partners, JAARSSS Media, and Redding Investments. Its media properties are in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Its previous acquisitions include HarborPoint Media, Freedom Communications Florida and North Carolina and The New York Times Regional Newspaper Group, which had been largely based in the Southeast.

"From the time we learned the T&G was for sale we were interested," said Michael Redding, CEO of Halifax Media Group. "The T&G is an excellent local newspaper with a dedicated and talented staff. In 2012, we acquired the Regional Media Group newspapers of the New York Times, so the T&G will be aligned again with their former New York Times papers and will join the outstanding teams at Halifax. We look forward to the upcoming closing of the transaction."