CherryRoad Media Inc., the New Jersey-based parent company of Hutchinson News, acquired its Hutchinson, Kansas, printing operations from Gannett Co., Inc. on Tuesday.
The transaction is expected close on Friday.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with CherryRoad Media,” said Gannett Chief Financial Officer Doug Horne. “This transaction ensures we continue our mission of providing essential, trusted journalism to the community and that our experienced team at the Hutchinson facility will continue their good work, bringing local news to our audiences.”
The Hutchinson News, which is owned by Gannett, will remain so. The Hutchinson facility will continue to print this paper.
Most of CherryRoad Media’s Kansas publications as well as numerous other newspapers in central and western Kansas are currently printed at the facility. All employees at the Hutchinson facility have been offered a job.
CherryRoad’s CEO Jeremy Gulban stated that the company wants to combine new technologies with printed publications in order to ensure the future for local newspapers.
“We are very excited to be acquiring the Hutchinson printing operation,” he said. “For almost two years we have worked with the talented team in Hutchinson to print our newspapers. Now we welcome them to our organization.”
Gulban also thanked the Gannett leadership for “working with us to create a stable printing solution for newspapers in Kansas and Colorado. This is a good thing for the future availability of printed newspapers in the region.”
CherryRoad Media, which is owned by CherryRoad Technologies in Parsippany (New Jersey), has been operating since 1983.
USA TODAY NETWORK, a part of Gannett Co., Inc., has the largest news media company in the United States in terms of distribution. The USA TODAY paper, local media in 43 US states, and Newsquest – a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom – are all part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.