BH Media Group Acquires Martinsville (VA) BulletinBack to News

Martinsville, VA – March 31, 2015 – BH Media Group has acquired the Martinsville (VA) Bulletin and the Franklin (VA) News-Post in Rocky Mount from the Haskell family.

Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico represented the Haskell family in the sale.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

The Martinsville Bulletin is a 12,250-circulation daily newspaper serving Martinsville, Collinsville and all of Henry County in southwestern Virginia.  The neighboring Franklin News-Post is a tri-weekly with 5,100-circulation serving Rocky Mount and greater Franklin County. 

The Martinsville Bulletin, together with its website www.martinsvillebulletin.com, is the leading provider of local news and information for Henry County and portions of neighboring Patrick County to the west.  It reaches more than 60% of the households in Martinsville alone with its 14,700-circulation Sunday paper.  Additionally, the newspaper’s website has more than 300,000 page views monthly. The Haskell family had the Martinsville Bulletin since 1948. 

“BH Media is a company that understands the importance of local news content and the commitment a newspaper makes to the community it serves.  This is good for our employees, our readers and the area,” said George Harris, publisher of the Martinsville Bulletin. 

BH Media owns a number of newspapers in the region, including the Roanoke (VA) Times, Danville (VA) Register & Bee and Lynchburg (VA) News & Advance. 

“We’re delighted to have the Martinsville Bulletin and the Franklin News-Post join our growing family of newspapers,” said Terry Kroeger, CEO of the BH Media Group.  “We look forward to the opportunity to continue the tradition of community-minded journalism carried on by the Haskell family for nearly 70 years.  We also want to welcome the Martinsville and Rocky Mount employees to our company and are looking forward to working with them.” 

BH Media Group, headquarted in Omaha, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Company (NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B).  BH Media Group now owns 30 daily newspapers and related weekly newspapers in Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida and New Jersey. 

For more information contact Dirks, Van Essen & Murray at 505-820-2700.