Liberty Group Publishing Buys Four Arkansas Publications from HarborPoint MediaBack to News

NORTHBROOK, IL, December 16, 2005 – Liberty Group Publishing announced today that it has purchased two daily and two weekly publications in Arkansas from HarborPoint Media, of Daytona Beach, Florida.

The sale includes the Hope (AR) Star, a 2,800-circulation daily, the Arkadelphia (AR) Daily Siftings Herald, a 2,700-circulation daily, the Gurdon (AR) Times, a 1,000-circulation weekly, and the Nevada County (AR) Picayune, a 1,900-circulation weekly.

George Jinks will remain publisher of all four publications.

Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a newspaper merger-and-acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented HarborPoint Media in the transaction.

HarborPoint Media purchased these publications in July, 2004 from Better Built Media Group, along with several other publications in Florida and Maryland. “We appreciate the contributions from the dedicated employees at our Arkansas papers and have enjoyed working with the communities there,” said HarborPoint Media CEO Michael Redding. “I am confident that Liberty will continue to build on that relationship.”

Randy Cope, co-president and co-chief operating officer of Liberty, said, “We are glad to begin our relationship with George Jinks and his staff. These publications have a strong history in these solid Arkansas communities and make a nice fit with the other publications we have in the area."

Liberty Group Publishing, headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, owns more than 270 community newspapers in 15 states. The company is controlled by Fortress Investment Group LLC.

Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, HarborPoint Media publishes community newspapers in central Florida and a paid weekly in Rockville, Maryland. HPM’s flagship daily is based in Leesburg, Florida. They also publish TMC products, real estate magazines, visitors’ guides and a number of other publications. Backed by Sandler Capital of New York, HarborPoint Media is focused on future acquisitions in the Southeast.