A major regional newspaper deal will shift 25 Ohio and Indiana publications to new ownership. HD Media will take control in September. Terms remain undisclosed.
Media operators and publishing professionals tracking regional consolidation will note a significant shift as HD Media LLC has agreed to acquire 25 local publications from AIM Media Midwest and AIM Media Indiana. This move will expand HD Media’s footprint across Ohio and Indiana, with the company set to assume ownership on September 1. The deal covers a broad portfolio of community newspapers, but financial terms have not been disclosed.
The acquisition includes 19 Ohio-based titles such as The Lima News, Sidney Daily News, Miami Valley Today, The Bryan Times, Sentinel-Tribune, Urbana Daily Citizen, Wilmington News Journal, Northwest Signal, The Daily Advocate, Early Bird, Xenia Daily Gazette, Record Herald, Delaware Gazette, The Times-Gazette, The Register-Herald, Morrow County Sentinel, Galion Inquirer, Fairborn Daily Herald, and Beavercreek News-Current. In Indiana, six publications are involved: The Republic, Daily Journal, Daily Reporter, The Tribune, Brown County Democrat, and The Times-Post.
Dirks, Van Essen & April, a Santa Fe-based media M&A firm, represented AIM Media in the transaction. According to Jeremy L. Halbreich, chairman and CEO of AIM Media Management, LLC, the company has focused on high-quality local journalism and successful business operations during its tenure. Halbreich also acknowledged the longstanding relationship with Doug Reynolds, managing partner of HD Media, describing HD Media as a strategic and qualified successor for these publications.
Doug Reynolds stated that HD Media’s acquisition is driven by a belief in the future of community newspapers, not nostalgia. He emphasized that many of the acquired titles have served their communities for over two centuries and that HD Media’s approach is to provide resources while ensuring the newspapers remain rooted in their local markets. Phil Perry, president of HD Media, noted that the company’s previous acquisition of the Portsmouth Daily Times from AIM Media in 2023 helped build trust for this larger transaction.
HD Media, headquartered in Charleston, currently operates 10 newspapers in West Virginia and Ohio, including the Charleston Gazette-Mail, The Herald-Dispatch, and the Portsmouth Daily Times. AIM Media Management, based in Dallas, will continue to own and operate its Texas publications, maintaining its focus on local news and advertising services across multiple platforms.
