EDITOR’S NOTE — See related story of Peninsula Daily News’ sale, https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20111101/NEWS/111039993/peninsula-daily-news-sold-to-canadian-group
SEQUIM — In addition to the Peninsula Daily News, Black Press Ltd. on Monday announced the purchase of the Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum.
Brown Maloney, owner of Sequim-based Olympic View Publishing Co., which owns the two weekly newspapers, confirmed the sale on Monday afternoon.
“I believe the Gazette will keep up their award-winning ways and remain committed to good journalism,” said Maloney, who has owned Olympic View Publishing for 23 years.
Sound Publishing Inc. in Poulsbo, a division of Victoria-based Black Press, assumes ownership of all three newspapers in Clallam County.
“We are thrilled with the purchase of the Sequim Gazette,” Black Press President David Black said in a prepared statement.
“We have been publishing community newspapers for 22 years in Washington state and see this as an opportunity to expand our operations to the North Olympic Peninsula, which is a good geographical fit with our other newspapers and website titles.
“The Gazette is one of the best newspapers in the state in terms of quality. We are proud to be the new stewards of the business.”
Financial terms of the sale were not made public.
Privately held Black Press Ltd. owns about 150 publications, mostly weekly newspapers and three daily newspapers in Honolulu; Akron, Ohio; and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.
The PDN becomes its fourth daily.
Mark Warner, presient of Black Press’ Vancouver Island division, confirmed the purchase of the Gazette in a PDN staff meeting.
PDN Publisher John Brewer said he was not aware that the Gazette was being sold to Black Press.
“We’ve had to do it quietly, because there’s always confidentiality,” Warner told PDN staffers.
“And we have to respect that, just as we did with [PDN owner] Peter [Horvitz].”
‘Huge sense’
Warner said it made “huge sense” to purchase the weeklies along with the PDN.
He said the Port Townsend weekly newspaper, The Leader — the only other newspaper on the Peninsula — was not up for sale.
The Gazette and the Peninsula Daily News have competed for readership in east Clallam County.
The PDN also publishes a free weekly, Sequim This Week, which reaches more than 11,000 households in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley.
Asked how the purchase of both would change the dynamic between the PDN and the Gazette, Warner said “it gets very tough” to compete with your neighbor.
“Those days of two, three, four newspaper towns, sadly, simply don’t exist anymore,” Warner said.
“You’re seeing it even in large American markets and large Canadian markets.
“The economy just doesn’t allow that anymore. So wherever you have opportunities of having properties close by, it makes a lot of sense instead of competing head to head.”
Warner said the company’s vision is to keep the PDN operating as a daily and the Gazette a weekly.
The future of Sequim This Week is still being studied, Brewer said.
Sequim Gazette Publisher Sue Ellen Riesau will continue to oversee the Gazette and Forks Forum.
A news release from Maloney did not give circulation figures for either of the two weeklies.
KONP radio, also owned by Olympic View Publishing, is not part of the transaction with Black Press.
Maloney said he will continue to operate KONP with Todd Ortloff, a minority partner in the station.
Maloney added that he plans to work on other family business interests.
Maloney’s wife, Sara, is the assistant director of the Olympic Medical Center Foundation and plans to continue in that role, he said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
