GateHouse Media
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing, media |
| Predecessor | Liberty Group Publishing |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Kenneth L. Serota |
| Fate | Merged with Gannett in 2019; rebranded as Gannett |
| Headquarters | McLean, Virginia (after merger) , United States |
Area served | United States (38 states) |
Key people | Mike Reed (CEO after merger) |
| Products | Newspapers, community publications, websites |
| Parent | New Media Investment Group (until merger), then Gannett |
GateHouse Media Inc. was a U.S.-based publisher specializing in local print and digital media, managing 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and more than 569 websites serving local markets in 38 states. Its parent organization, New Media Investment Group, completed the acquisition of Gannett in 2019; the combined company retained the Gannett name and maintained its headquarters in Virginia.
Liberty Group Publishing
Founded in 1998 by Kenneth L. Serota, previously an attorney at Hollinger International, Liberty Group Publishing launched with financial support from Leonard Green & Partners. The firm purchased 160 community newspapers from Hollinger and set up its main office in Downers Grove, Illinois. Liberty experienced rapid growth, expanding to 330 newspapers by 2000 but later reduced its holdings to 270 by mid-2005 due to operational difficulties.
GateHouse Media
In June 2005, Fortress Investment Group acquired Liberty for $527 million, increasing the portfolio to include 75 daily newspapers, 231 weekly titles, 117 shoppers, and 230 websites. The company was rebranded as GateHouse and shifted its headquarters to the Rochester, New York suburbs in April 2006. GateHouse went public in October 2006 while Fortress maintained a 60% ownership stake. In 2007, GateHouse bought 14 daily newspapers along with other publications from Morris Communications for $115 million.
In August 2008, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) informed GateHouse that it failed to meet listing requirements due to low market capitalization and share price. Despite attempts to regain compliance, the company was eventually delisted.
Bankruptcy, bailout and restructuring
In September 2013, News Corp divested the Dow Jones Local Media Group, consisting of 33 local newspapers, selling it to Newcastle Investment Corp, an affiliate of Fortress. These publications were managed by GateHouse Media. CEO Robert James Thomson stated that this transaction aligned with News Corp’s strategic priorities.
By that year, GateHouse was operating across 330 markets in 21 states but was burdened by substantial debt restricting expansion. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2013, reporting $433.7 million in assets against $1.3 billion in liabilities. Fortress held ownership of 52% of this debt. GateHouse reemerged from restructuring in November 2013 under a new parent company named New Media Investment Group, Inc., with former shareholders receiving warrants for equity stakes in the reorganized entity.
From 2014 through 2017, GateHouse pursued growth through acquisitions including Halifax, Stephens Media, Calkins Media, Morris Publications, Dolan Media Group, and Journal Multimedia—diversifying its portfolio with business-focused publications rebranded as BridgeTower Media.
GateHouse’s corporate approach centers on acquiring legacy local media outlets and converting print-centric businesses into multimedia platforms. By April 2018, it published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community periodicals, and operated over 569 local-market websites spanning 38 states.
Recent acquisitions
In January 2015, GateHouse purchased 36 newspapers from Halifax Media Group for $280 million. The following month it acquired Stephens Media (newspapers), which primarily operated in Arkansas and Nevada, for $102.8 million. In December of that year, GateHouse sold Stephens Media’s largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, to casino entrepreneur Sheldon Adelson for $140 million.
November 2016 saw GateHouse acquire Harris Enterprises’ six daily newspapers located in Kansas and Iowa. In February 2017, it purchased Dix Communications’ chain serving northeastern and east-central Ohio for $21.2 million. By June of that year, GateHouse added Calkins Media Group's four six-day-a-week newspapers alongside Calkins Digital Group’s printing facility and digital operations.
August 2017 included the acquisition of eleven daily newspapers and thirty weekly publications plus additional assets from Morris Publishing Group. In October, GateHouse obtained Edward A. Sherman Publishing Company, publisher of The Newport Daily News. January 2018 marked the purchase of Oregon’s second-largest daily newspaper, The Register-Guard.
In February 2018, GateHouse expanded its presence in central Massachusetts by acquiring Holden Landmark Corporation’s media assets such as Worcester Magazine and several community newspapers. March featured two significant deals: acquiring the Austin American-Statesman for $47.5 million and purchasing The Palm Beach Post along with Palm Beach Daily News from Cox Media Group for $49.25 million.
April brought a $16 million acquisition of the Akron Beacon Journal, a long-established daily newspaper known for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism. In July that year, GateHouse purchased SouthernKitchen.com—an Atlanta-based Southern food and lifestyle brand combining e-commerce with editorial content.
On September 27, 2018, GateHouse acquired The Oklahoman Media Company, owner of Oklahoma’s largest daily newspaper, for $12.5 million. In January 2019 it bought Schurz Communications’ publishing division including Indiana titles The Herald-Times and South Bend Tribune. Later that year saw the purchase of the New Jersey Herald from Quincy Media.
These targeted acquisitions have considerably increased GateHouse’s market presence across various regional markets while enhancing its product offerings and reinforcing its position within the newspaper industry.
Acquisition and Rebranding as Gannett
In August 2019, New Media Investment Group announced a merger with Gannett, integrating it into GateHouse Media, which remained the legal surviving entity. Mike Reed, CEO of New Media, assumed leadership of the combined organization. Following the merger, the company adopted the established Gannett brand and shifted its headquarters to Gannett’s location in McLean, Virginia. This transaction, finalized on November 19, 2019, resulted in the formation of the largest newspaper publishing company in the United States.
The entity formerly known as GateHouse, now operating under the Gannett name, is controlled by Fortress Investments, a private equity firm based in New York and owned by the Japanese technology giant Softbank. By early 2022, Gannett initiated efforts to buy out Fortress’s external management role ahead of schedule to enhance its operational autonomy.