Stephens Media Acquires Ames (IA) TribuneBack to News

AMES, Iowa, November 29, 2010 – Stephens Media Iowa, LLC today acquired the Ames Tribune, Boone News-Republican, Dallas County News, Nevada Journal, Ames About People & Advertiser, Tri-County Times, and Algona Upper Des Moines from Midlands Newspapers, Inc., a subsidiary of the Omaha World-Herald Company.

Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a newspaper merger and acquisition firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented Midlands Newspapers, Inc. in the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Stephens Media Iowa is a subsidiary of Stephens Media LLC, a nationwide newspaper publisher whose holdings include the Las Vegas (NV) Review-Journal and more than 50 other publications from North Carolina to Hawaii.

Tom Stallbaumer, publisher of the Morning News of Springdale, Arkansas, was appointed publisher of the newspapers. John Goossen, former publisher, has resigned to pursue other interests. All other employees of the newspapers are being retained and no changes in publication frequency or distribution are planned.

“I am pleased to welcome these fine newspapers into the Stephens Media family,” Michael Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer of Stephens Media remarked this morning at employee meetings in Ames. “We are newspaper people, first and foremost,” Ferguson said. “These are high quality newspapers in dynamic markets.” “We are also pleased to be returning to the Iowa newspaper community” Ferguson said this morning in Ames. Stephens Media previously owned the Oskaloosa Herald and the Clinton Herald. Stallbaumer is a former publisher in Oskaloosa.

“We were fortunate to have found such a quality newspaper company to be the stewards of the Ames Tribune and Iowa Community Publications into the future” said Terry Kroeger, Chief Executive Officer of the Omaha World-Herald Company. “The Ames market is outside of our primary market area of Nebraska and Western Iowa, so it makes sense to generate cash from our investment in the Tribune. We are grateful to John Goossen and his team for the good work that has been done in Ames under our ownership.”

If you have further questions contact Dirks, Van Essen & Murray at 505-820-2700.