Канадалық «Black Press Group» баспа компаниясы

Canadian publisher of newspapers
the Canadian publishing company

Black Press Group Ltd. (BPG) is a Canadian commercial printer and newspaper publisher founded in 1975 by David Holmes Black, who has no relation to Canadian born media mogul Conrad Black. Based in Surrey, British Columbia, it was previously owned by the publisher of Toronto Star (Torstar, 19.35%) and Black (80.65%). In March 2024, it was announced that Carpenter Media Group had completed its acquisition of the firm, in a deal that involved Canso Investment Counsel, Ltd.

Also known as Black Press Media, the company publishes in the United States through two subsidiaries, Oahu Publications in Hawaii and Sound Publishing in Alaska and Washington. It also owns Northern News Services based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. After acquiring three newspapers on the Kitsap Peninsula, the publisher passed the responsibility for maintaining its titles in Hawaii to Oahu Publications, a subsidiary formed in 2001 by BPG. News Media Canada reported Black Press publishes 106 editions across Canada with a combined circulation of 1,295,243. The number of titles include 70 in British Columbia, 11 in Alberta, two in Northwest Territories and one in Yukon.

In 1969, Alan Black and Clive Stangoe acquired the Williams Lake Tribune of Williams Lake, British. The weekly newspaper had previously been owned by Northwest Publications, where Alan Black worked as a manager. After the company dissolved, he acquired a majority stake in the company's smallest title alongside Stangoe, who worked as the paper's publisher. for $60,000. Black operated the Tribune exclusively for four years until purchasing the husband and wife owned Ashcroft Cache Creek Journal in nearby Ashcroft in 1979. Black continued to purchase other newspapers over time and soon formed newspaper clusters around Victoria and Vancouver. blockquote|text=There was never a big plan to get big. It's just that another opportunity would come over the hill. Usually an independent would phone, wanting to retire or sell out, asking if we were interested in buying them. In 1984, Black purchased a majority stake in three newspapers and two web printing plants on Vancouver Island. The sale included Goldstream Gazette, Ladysmith Chemainus Chronicle and Parksville Qualicum News Advertiser. The papers were merged into a new company which would also manage Sidney Review, which had been acquired earlier. The sale brought the total number of newspapers owned by Black up to 12. In 1987, Black acquired the Salmon Arm Observer group on newspapers, which included the Chase Shuswap Weekly, Eagle Valley News and Salmon Arm Observer. In 1992, Black acquired the 100 Mile House Free Press. In 1997, Black acquired 33 publications in western Canada from Trinity International Holdings PLC of Britain for $58 million. The sale included the Red Deer Advocate. By this time Black Press Ltd. had been established as Cariboo Press's parent company. On September 19, 2002, Torstar Corporation announced that it was investing $20 million to acquire a 19.35% share in Black Press. At that time Black Press published 88 newspapers and had 11 printing plants. Annual revenues at the time were $240 million. In 2006, Black Press acquired UsedEverywhere. com, a Canadian online classified website. The website re branded to Used. ca in 2015. On June 27, 2007, Black Press announced a $405 million takeover offer for Osprey Media, putting it in competition with Quebecor Media for Osprey's assets. Quebecor put in a higher bid and won ownership of Osprey. as of 2008 it owned about 150 newspapers. In July 2010, Black Press acquired the Red Deer Express from Great West Newspapers, LP. The company acquired two other Central Alberta publications, the Sylvan Lake News and Eckville Echo, in June 2011. The two weekly newspapers were owned by Barry and Darlene Hibbert. In July 2011, Black Press purchased of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman and the Kimberley Daily Bulletin by Don Kendall. At the time the two dallies published Monday to Friday, had a combined circulation of 5,000. In 2013, Black Press and Glacier Media Inc. exchanged four community newspapers in British Columbia. That led to the closure of Abbotsford Times. In 2014, Black Press negotiated deals with Glacier Media Inc. to take effect in March 2015 that would exchange a dozen British Columbia newspapers that consolidated ownership of competing community papers on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Black Press obtained Harbor City Star, Nanaimo Daily News, Cowichan Citizen, Parksville Oceanside Star, Tofino/Ucluelet Westerly News, Comox Valley Echo, Campbell River Courier, Surrey Now and Langley Advance. In August 2014, Black Press acquired Yukon News from owner Stephen Robertson. In March 2021, Black Press purchased Northern News Services Limited of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, which publishes five newspapers in the Northwest Territories and two in Nunavut. In April 2023, Black Press entered a partnership with Village Media to license its custom content management system called Villager. The migration of Black Press sites will be completed in 2024. On January 15, 2024, Black Press entered CCAA bankruptcy protection and announced a sales agreement. Founder David Black resigned as president shortly after the announcements. On January 16, Black Press filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the United States. At the time of the bankruptcy, Black Press has 144 publications, including 35 in Washington under its Sound Publishing subsidiary.

In 1987, David Black sold a 21% equity stake in his company to Shaw Communications to fund the purchase of about 15 newspapers. He bought stake back in 1990. In 2006, Black Press purchased nine newspapers from the family owned Horvitz Newspapers Inc. The sale included the 41,000 circulation daily King County Journal; two weeklies, the Mercer Island Reporter and Snoqualmie Valley Record; and seven bi weeklies, the Auburn Reporter, Bellevue Reporter, Bothell/Kenmore Reporter, Covington/Maple Valley Reporter, Kent Reporter, Redmond Reporter and Renton Reporter. The King County Journal printed its last issue on Jan. 21, 2007. Forty full time employees were laid off. Ten staffers were moved to weekly sister publications, and one was moved to marketing staff. In June 2008, Black Press purchased The Enumclaw Courier Herald, along with a 4 year old sibling publication that serves the Bonney Lake/Lake Tapps area. The paper's were previously owned by the estate of Ted Natt along with John Natt, David Natt and current publisher Bill Marcum. By July 2008, Black Press owned 15 community newspapers around the Seattle area, including 12 under the Reporter Newspapers brand, including the newly created Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter and the Sumner/Lake Tapps Reporter. Overall, the mostly free weeklies in King County reached about 300,000 households at the time. In October 2008, Black Press purchased the Marysville Globe, Arlington Times, the regional Express Shopper and monthly business publications the Wenatchee Business Journal and the Bellingham Business Journal from Sun News Inc. The 3,400 circulation Wenatchee Business Journal was traded in August 2011 to CW Media, Inc. in exchange for the Okanogan Valley Gazette Tribune. The Globe, The Times, and Bellingham Business Journal were are closed in April 2020 due to the COVID 19 recession in the United States. That same month Black Press acquired Peninsula Daily News and Sequim This Week from Horvitz Newspapers. In January 2013, Voice Media Group sold Seattle Weekly to Black Press. The alt weekly ceased its print edition and became an online only publication in February 2019. In February 2013, Black purchased The Everett Herald, a daily newspaper near Seattle. It had previously been owned for 35 years by the Washington Post Company. In October 2014, Black Press purchased six newspapers from Stephens Media, including The Daily World in Aberdeen, the Montesano Vidette, the North Coast News in Ocean Shores and the South Beach Bulletin in Westport. The Honolulu Advertiser was acquired in 2010 and merged with the Star Bulletin to create the Honolulu Star Advertiser. In October 2014, Black Press purchased six newspapers from Stephens Media. The sale included West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune Herald, as well as a 50% interest in Hawaii. com.

In 2006, Black Press acquired the Akron Beacon Journal, the former Knight Ridder flagship in Northeast Ohio, for $165 million. Black Press sold the paper in April 2018 to GateHouse Media and acquired the Juneau Empire, Peninsula Clarion and Homer News in Alaska from GateHouse.

In 2011, David Black was one of several newspaper industry veterans who joined as investors in the San Francisco Newspaper Company to buy the former Hearst flagship The San Francisco Examiner from Clarity Media Group. Media outlets initially reported the paper was purchased by Black's company Black Press, but Black only participated as a private investor and held shares in the Examiner separately from Black Press. The company acquired the San Francisco Bay Guardian from Bruce Brugmann in April 2012 and SF Weekly from Voice Media Group in January 2013. In May 2014, Vogt announced plans to sell his shares of the company to Black Press' Hawaiian subsidy Oahu Publications Inc., or to buy Black out of the company by the end of the month. "Unless I can find local partners, I'm not gonna do the deal," Vogt told staff. "I've got 25 days to do a deal or sell out." Vogt did sell to Oahu, which subsequently became San Francisco Media Co.'s parent company. Dennis Francis, president of Oahu Publications, became the company's new president, and in August 2014, Glenn Zuehls was named publisher. In October 2014, Zuehls announced Bay Guardian, saying "the obstacles for a profitable Bay Guardian are too great to overcome." In 2020, San Francisco Media Co., including the Examiner and SF Weekly, was sold to Clint Reilly Communications.