Wick Communications Acquires the Delta County (CO) IndependentBack to News

DELTA, CO – May 1, 2019 – The 137-year-old Delta County (CO) Independent, which has been published by the Sunderland family for more than 30 years, has been sold to Wick Communications, a third-generation family-owned and operated media corporation, of Sierra Vista, AZ.

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

Wick Communications president and CEO Francis Wick and his father, Bob Wick, were on hand for the Tuesday announcement, as well as the Sunderland family.

“We’re honored to have been chosen by the entire Sunderland family to continue this great tradition of journalistic service to the community,” Wick said.

“The Delta County Independent and surrounding communities served have a strong, independent spirit and voice that the newspaper will continue to support and foster. Ultimately, a newspaper is only as strong as the community fabric and desire to grow together, rather than apart.”

The DCI joins the Montrose (CO) Daily Press, also 137 years old, as a member of the Wick publication family. Wick Communications acquired the Daily Press in the 1990s. The family-owned company owns more than two dozen newspapers and specialty publications in 11 states. The DCI is Wick’s second Colorado property.

“We are thankful that the Wicks are the kind of company that could come in and keep that community focus. They have a proven track record,” Randy Sunderland said. 

Montrose Daily Press publisher Dennis Anderson, a Delta High School graduate and a current Delta resident, will also serve as the publisher of the Delta County Independent. 

The Delta County Independent was founded in March 1883 by R.D. Blair, who brought his presses and newsprint over the mountains by pack mules and published from a tent. In 1987, the DCI was acquired by the Sunderlands from Atlanta-based Cox Media Group.