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CPI Sells Oklahoma Newspapers to Warren Buffett’s BH Media Group

2 min read

Community Publishers Inc. of Bentonville has sold the last of its newspaper holdings to a firm owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathway Co.

BH Media Group of Omaha, Nebraska, said Monday that it purchased six weekly newspapers and one daily, the Tulsa Business & Legal News, from CPI.

A purchase price was not disclosed.

“Community Publishers is proud of its long and successful association with these Tulsa area community newspapers,” CPI CEO Steve Trolinger said. “And pleased that they will continue to serve the readers and advertisers in their respective markets under such an outstanding media organization as BH Media.”

In addition to the Business & Legal News, BH Media will acquire The Broken Arrow Ledger, The Sand Springs Leader, The Coweta American, The Wagoner Tribune, The Owasso Reporter and The Skiatook Journal.

“We look forward to the opportunity to continue the tradition of community-minded journalism that the Community Publishers team has demonstrated during their ownership,” Terry Kroeger, CEO of BH Media Group, said. “We also want to welcome the employees to our company and are looking forward to working with them.” 

CPI purchased the Oklahoma papers in 2005 from Retherford Publications of Tulsa. At the time, Retherford was the largest privately owned newspaper firm in Oklahoma, operating 15 community newspapers and four specialty publications.

That 2005 deal came less than a month after Walter Hussman’s Wehco Media Group exercised an option to purchase the Northwest Arkansas Times of Fayetteville, Benton County Daily Record of Bentonville and eight weekly newspapers from CPI.

In early March, CPI sold its other newspaper holdings in Arkansas and Missouri to Phillips Media Group LLC. That deal included the sale of the Harrison Daily Times and Newton County Times in northwest Arkansas, as well as the Bolivar Herald-Free Press, the Buffalo Reflex, the Cedar County Republican, the Christian County Headliner, the Marshfield Mail and the Nixa Xpress in Missouri.

CPI was founded in 1982 and is owned by Jim Walton, son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.

BH Media Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Berkshire Hathaway. With Monday’s deal, BH Media owns 30 daily newspapers and related weekly newspapers in Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida and New Jersey.

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