Montgomery Media Acquires Two Kansas DailiesBack to News

Parsons, KS – April 4, 2023 – Kansas Newspapers has sold the daily Parsons (KS) Sun and daily Chanute (KS) Tribune to Scott Wesner and Scott Wood. Wood and Wesner, high school classmates who both have extensive newspaper experience, have been steadily acquiring community newspapers in recent years.

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

The Parsons and Chanute newspapers are a strategic add-on for the Wesner and Wood duo, who also own the nearby Independence (KS) Reporter. The Parsons and Independence newspapers are among the oldest in southeast Kansas, established in 1871 and 1881 respectively. The Chanute Tribune was founded in 1892.

“It is an honor and a privilege to continue publishing these newspapers,” Scott Wesner said.  “My business partner, Scott Wood, and I look forward to working with the people of these wonderful communities.”

Other newspapers recently acquired by Wood and Wesner include the Frederick (OK) Press-Leader, the Altus (OK) Times, and the Mangum (OK) Star, which they bought in August 2022. Just a few months later, they acquired six newspapers in Texas from Roberts Publishing Co. These included the Lamesa Press-Reporter, The Slatonite, Andrews County News, Brownfield News, Seminole Sentinel, and the Snyder News.

Wesner and Wood graduated from high school together in Cordell, Oklahoma. Wesner, who now lives in Texas, has been in newspaper publishing for more than 25 years, primarily in the Texas Hill Country. He and his brother, Brett, bought their first newspaper together when he was just 21 years old. Brett also remains in the newspaper business, with papers in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.

Wood got his start in the newspaper business in 1997 in West Texas and in 2003 moved to Muenster, Texas, acquiring newspapers in that area.