Shelbyville (TN) Times-Gazette Sold to Rust CommunicationsBack to News

SHELBYVILLE TN, April 30, 2004 – David and Nina Gay Segroves announced today the sale of the Shelbyville (TN) Times-Gazette to Rust Communications of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The 8,200-circulation daily Times-Gazette has been under continuous family ownership for nearly 128 years.

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

David Segroves, in making the announcement, said, “Much thought and prayer has gone into this decision and Rust Communications was picked from a dozen interested companies as the one to carry on the Times-Gazette banner. An important consideration in the final decision was the quality and integrity of the buyer. Nina Gay and I are convinced we are handing over the reins to a family that has demonstrated it cares about employees and it cares about the community the newspaper serves.”

Rex Rust, co-president of Rust Communications, commented, “We at Rust Communications are excited to have the Times-Gazette join our newspaper family. Shelbyville is a vibrant and growing community. We look forward to serving its citizens and businesses under the same tradition established by David Segroves and his family. We are also excited about partnering with Hugh Jones.”

Hugh Jones, a native of Murfreesboro, will be the new publisher and part owner of the Times-Gazette. The Rust family, with Jon Rust and Rex Rust as co-presidents and Gary Rust as chairman, owns and operates the company but frequently allows individual publishers to be part owners.

Rust Communications is a family-owned newspaper company that has grown from four daily newspapers 11 years ago to 50 newspapers in seven states, including 18 dailies. Rust is also part owner of 17 radio stations in Missouri and Illinois. Rust Communications owns one other newspaper in Tennessee. It acquired the Dyersburg State Gazette in 2001 after publishing the Dyersburg News since 1985.

For further information contact James Oldershaw at Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, (phone) 505-820-2700 or (fax) 505-820-2900.