Paxton Media Group acquiring The Dispatch

Burlington, NC – November 21, 2022
Paxton Media Group is acquiring six newspapers in North Carolina from Gannett Co., Inc. The titles include Lexington Dispatch, the Asheboro Courier-Tribune, the Burlington Times-News, the Kinston Free Press, the New Bern Sun Journal, and The Daily News of Jacksonville.

Dirks, Van Essen & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is representing Gannett in the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Paxton Media Group, a 125-year-old family owned media company headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky, is managed by fourth- and fifth-generation Paxton family members. The company owns more than 100 newspapers across the Midwest and Southeast. Its 10 North Carolina papers include The High Point Enterprise and Goldsboro News-Argus.

"We are excited to add these newspapers to our growing portfolio in North Carolina," said Jamie Paxton, PMG president and CEO. "PMG believes strongly in the value of local newspapers and the vital role they play in the communities that they serve. We appreciate being chosen to be the new stewards of these important community assets and intend to work hard to maintain the trust that these publications have earned over their long and storied history."

"We look forward to serving the readers and businesses in these communities," said Jana Thomasson, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia Division President and Group Publisher. "We focus on local content and our goal is to add journalists for this purpose."

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