Maryland daily to be sold to Ogden Newspapers

An agreement in principal has been reached by the Randall Family, LLC, owners of The Frederick (Md.) News-Post, to explore the sale of the News-Post to Ogden Newspapers, Inc., of Wheeling, W.Va., according to Gary Greene, Cribb, Greene & Cope newspaper brokerage firm.

The announcement was made by Will Randall, chief executive officer of Randall Family, LLC, and Bob Nutting, Ogden's president and chief financial officer.

"Although these discussions are ongoing, we wanted to share this important and exciting news with employees and the community as soon as possible," Randall said.

"Ogden Newspapers is a strong, family-owned company that believes in community journalism and has the resources and expertise to maintain and grow The News-Post as a vital Frederick institution."

Should the discussions lead to a sale, Ogden Newspapers would publish the News-Post and operate the company's commercial printing operations. Randall said that both companies had executed a letter of intent and were working toward executing an asset purchase agreement.

Randall is a fifth-generation member of the family that in 1883 founded what has become The Frederick News-Post. Likewise, the Nutting family, owners of Ogden Newspapers, began in the publishing business in 1890 when they launched the Wheeling News in Wheeling, W.Va., where the company remains headquartered.

"Our two families have had a great deal of respect for one another for many years," Randall said.

Ogden owns two newspapers in the region, The Journal in Martinsburg, W.Va., and the Northern Virginia Daily of Strasburg, Va. The Wheeling, W.Va.-based company also publishes newspapers in Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah.

The company also has many weekly newspapers across the country and a stable of magazines based in Topeka, Kan., including Grit and Mother Earth News. The Nutting family also owns Seven Springs Mountain Resort and Hidden Valley Ski Resort in Pennsylvania and is the majority owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball franchise.

The company began in 1890 when H.C. Ogden started publishing the Wheeling News. The company has been continuously owned and managed by his descendants, the Nutting family.

"My family is extremely proud to have the opportunity to become the successor publisher of the News-Post," Nutting said. "The Randall family has published a compelling, relevant, highly credible and valuable newspaper in Frederick for 134 years. We are honored that the Randalls are considering us to continue their great publishing tradition."