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 Journal Communications building | |
| Formerly | The Journal Company Journal Communications |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| NYSE: JMG | |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1882; 143 years ago (1882) |
| Defunct | April 8, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-04-08) |
| Fate | Acquired byGannett Broadcast assets acquired byE. W. Scripps Company |
| Successor | Gannett Company E. W. Scripps Company |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Nationwide |
Key people | |
| Revenue | $400 million[1] (2012) |
| $60 million[1] (2012) | |
| $33.3 million[1] (2012) | |
| Total assets | $625.8 million[1] (2012) |
| Total equity | $205.5 million[1] (2012) |
Journal Media Group (formerlyJournal Communications) was aMilwaukee,Wisconsin-basednewspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, theMilwaukee Journal, and expanded into broadcasting with the establishment ofWTMJ radio andWTMJ-TV, and the acquisition of other television and radio stations.
On April 1, 2015, theE. W. Scripps Company acquired Journal Communications, andspun out the publishing operations of both Scripps and Journal into a new company known as Journal Media Group. It is led by Timothy E. Stautberg—the former head of Scripps' newspaper business, joined by previous Journal CEO Stephen J. Smith as a chairman. In 2016, Journal Media Group was acquired byGannett.
TheMilwaukee Journal was started in 1882, in competition with four other English-language, four German- and two Polish-language dailies. It launchedWTMJ-AM (620) in 1927, andWTMJ-TV (Channel 4) in 1947.The Journal Company, until then primarily owned by local interests, introduced anemployee stock trust plan in 1937, and as a result most Journal stock was eventually held by its employees (under certain restrictions). A small bloc of Journal stock was given toHarvard to fund theNieman Fellowship program for promising journalists, and another bloc was still held by the original owning families until theIPO.
TheMilwaukee Sentinel, begun in 1837 as a weekly published by city co-founderSolomon Juneau, passed through the hands of several owners before being sold to theHearst Corporation in 1924. Hearst operated the Sentinel until 1962, when, following a long and costly strike, it abruptly announced the closing of the paper. Although Hearst claimed that the paper had lost money for years, The Journal Company, concerned about the loss of an important voice (and facing questions about its own dominance of the Milwaukee media market), agreed to buy the Sentinel name, subscription lists, andgoodwill associated with the name. In 1995 the Journal and Sentinel were consolidated. The newJournal Sentinel then became a seven-day morning paper. In 1964, Journal Communications bought a part interest in Perry Printing, a commercial printer specializing in printing magazines, catalogs and free-standing inserts for publications.[2] A decade later, in 1974, it purchased the remaining shares of the company. In 1995, it sold the operation (which by then had about 1000 employees and sales of $123 million) to the Milhous Group of California.[3]
In 1968, the Midwestern Relay cable transmission division of the Journal Company was developed out of broadcast-related expertise; in 1991, Midwestern Relay acquired Norlight, a fiber-optic private carrier, and adopted the Norlight name. On February 26, 2007, Journal Communications sold the regional telecommunications provider to privately held Q-Comm Corp ofDelaware. Upon closing the transaction, Q-Comm terminated Jim Ditter, who had been president of Norlight since 1995, and chief financial officer Phillip Garvey. What is now known as the Journal Community Publishing Group began inWaupaca, Wisconsin in 1972 as a publishing and printing company called Add Inc. A majority interest was purchased by Journal Communications in 1981, and the remainder in 1986. In June 2007, Journal Communications sold off its JCP interests inLouisiana,Ohio,Connecticut andVermont. The sales brought in a combined $30 million.[4]
The company sold 11 community newspapers, five shoppers and two printing plants in Connecticut and Vermont toHersam Acorn Newspapers. In Ohio, Journal sold eight shoppers, numerous specialty print products and the Advantage Press commercial printing business toGannett Company. It also sold its Louisiana-based publishing business to a Target Media Partners affiliate. In 1999 Journal Communications acquired the Great Empire radio group (13 radio stations in 4 states). The corporation had itsinitial public offering of Class A shares in 2003. For decades, Journal Communications was criticized[5][6] with concerns about being a mediamonopoly in the Milwaukee area. It created the now-defunctalternative papersMKE and¡Aqui! Milwaukee to regain advertising dollars lost to local independents like theShepherd Express and theMilwaukee Spanish Journal.[7]
On July 30, 2014, it was announced that Journal would be acquired by theE. W. Scripps Company in an all-stock transaction. Scripps would retain the two firms' broadcasting properties, while both the Scripps and Journal print properties would be spun off as Journal Media Group.[8] The FCC approved the deal on December 12, 2014, and it was approved by shareholders on March 11, 2015.[9] The merger and spin-off were finalized on April 1, 2015; Stephen J. Smith was replaced as CEO by Timothy E. Stautberg—the former head of Scripps' newspaper operation.[10] Although Journal Media Group was based at Journal Communications' old headquarters in Milwaukee, the latter company was legally defunct, having been absorbed into Scripps and renamed "Desk BC Merger, LLC".[11]
On October 7, 2015, it was announced thatGannett would acquire Journal Media Group for $280 million.[12] The deal was finalized on April 8, 2016.[13]
Florida
Wisconsin
Stations are arranged alphabetically bycity of license.
| City of license /Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appleton–Green Bay, WI | WACY-TV | 32 | 2012–2015[a] | Independent station owned by theE. W. Scripps Company |
| Caldwell–Boise, ID | KNIN-TV | 9 | 2009–2015 | Fox affiliate owned byMarquee Broadcasting |
| Cape Coral–Fort Myers–Naples, FL | WFTX-TV | 36 | 2005–2015 | Fox affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Green Bay, WI | WGBA-TV | 26 | 2004–2015 | NBC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Lansing, MI | WSYM-TV | 47 | 1985–2015 | Fox affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Las Vegas, NV | KTNV-TV | 13 | 1979–2015 | ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Milwaukee, WI | WTMJ-TV ** | 4 | 1947–2015 | NBC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Nampa–Boise, ID | KIVI-TV | 6 | 2002–2015 | ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. |
| Nashville, TN | WTVF | 5 | 2012–2015 | CBS affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Omaha, NE | KMTV-TV | 3 | 2007–2015 | CBS affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Palm Springs, CA | KMIR-TV | 36 | 1999–2014 | NBC affiliate owned byEntravision Communications |
| Palm Springs, CA | KPSE-LP | 50 | 2008–2014 | MyNetworkTV affiliateKPSE-LD, owned by Entravision Communications |
| Sierra Vista, AZ | KWBA-TV | 58 | 2008–2015 | Independent station owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Sturgeon Bay, WI | WLWK-CD[A] | 22 | 2004–2015 | NBC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Tucson, AZ | KGUN-TV | 9 | 2005–2015 | ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| Twin Falls, ID | KSAW-LD[B] | 6 | 2002–2015 | ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| AM Station | FM Station |
|---|
| City of license / Market | Station | Years owned | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boise, ID | KGEM 1140 | 1998–2009 | Owned by Salt & Light Radio |
| KSRV 1380 | 1998–2000 | Defunct, ceased operations in 2019 asKBXN | |
| KCID 1490 | 1998–2009 | Owned by Salt & Light Radio | |
| KRVB 94.9 | –2015 | Owned byLotus Communications | |
| KSRV-FM 96.1 | 1998–2000 | Owned by Iliad Media Group | |
| KQXR 100.3 | 1998–2015 | Owned by Lotus Communications | |
| KJOR/KJOT 105.1 | 1998–2015 | Owned by Lotus Communications | |
| KCID-FM/KTHI 107.1 | 1998–2015 | Owned by Lotus Communications | |
| Kansas City, MO | KCWV/KRVK/KQRC-FM 98.9 | 1989–1997 | Owned byAudacy, Inc. |
| Knoxville, TN | WQBB/WKTI 1040 | 1998–2012 | WJBE, owned byJoe E. Armstrong |
| WWST/WMYU/WCYQ/ WNOX 93.1 | 1997–2015 | Owned bySummitMedia | |
| WNOX/WCYQ 100.3 | 2013–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| WMYU/WWST 102.1 | 1997–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| WQBB-FM/WQIX/ WBON/WKHT 104.5 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| Milwaukee, WI | WTMJ 620 | 1927–2015 | Owned byGood Karma Brands |
| WTMJ-FM/WKTI-FM/ WLWK-FM 94.5 ** | 1959–2015 | WKTI, owned by Good Karma Brands | |
| Omaha, NE | WOW/KOMJ/KXSP 590 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia |
| KBBX/KHLP 1420 | 1998–2005 | KXCB, owned by Steven Seline | |
| KEZO/KOSR/KOMJ 1490 | 1995–2005 | KIBM, owned by Steven Seline | |
| KEZO-FM 92.3 | 1995–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| WOW-FM/KSSO/KMXM/ KQCH 94.1 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KOSJ/KEZY/KQCH/ KBBX-FM 97.7 | 1996–2006 | Owned by Flood Communications | |
| KSRZ 104.5 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KKCD 105.9 | 1995–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| Springfield, MO | KTTS/KTTF/KSGF 1260 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia |
| KTTS-FM 94.7 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KLTQ/KMXH/KSPW 96.5 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KZRQ/KSGF-FM 104.1 | 1999–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KRVI 106.7 | 1999–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| Tucson, AZ | KNND/KFFN 1490 | 1995–2018 | Owned by Lotus Communications |
| KMXZ-FM 94.9 | 1995–2015 | Owned by Lotus Communications | |
| KKHJ/KZPT/KQTH 104.1 ** | 1994–2015 | KFLT-FM, owned byFamily Life Broadcasting | |
| KLQB/KIXD/KGMG/ KTGV 106.3 | 1998–2015 | Owned byBustos Media | |
| Tulsa, OK | KVOO/KFAQ 1170 | 1998–2015 | KOTV, owned byGriffin Communications |
| KBEZ 92.9 | 2012–2015 | Owned by Griffin Communications | |
| KVOO-FM 98.5 | 1998–2015 | Owned by Griffin Communications | |
| KCKI/KXBL 99.5 | 1998–2015 | Owned by Griffin Communications | |
| KHTT 106.9 | 2012–2015 | Owned by Griffin Communications | |
| Wichita, KS | KFDI/KFTI/KLIO 1070 | 1998–2015 | KFTI, owned by SummitMedia |
| KMXW/KFTI-FM 92.3 | 1999–2015 | KKGQ, owned by Union Broadcasting | |
| KICT-FM 95.1 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KFDI-FM 101.3 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KLLS/KFXJ 104.5 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| KYQQ 106.5 | 1998–2015 | Owned by SummitMedia | |
| Wausau, WI | WSAU 550 | 1985–1996 | Owned byMidwest Communications |
| WSAU 1400 | 1947–1951 | WRIG (1390AM), owned by Midwest Communications | |
| WSAU-FM 95.5 ** | 1947–1950 | Defunct, ceased operations in 1950 | |
| WIFC 95.5 | 1985–1996 | Owned by Midwest Communications |
Before its merger with Journal, the papers of E. W. Scripps were known for having several controversies within the newspapers it ran.
Hugo Zacchini performed ahuman cannonball act in 1972 at theGeauga County Fair inBurton, Ohio. Scripps television stationWEWS-TV recorded and aired the entire act against his wishes and without compensating him, as was required byOhio law. InZacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment did not shield the broadcaster from liability fromcommon law copyright claims.[14]
The Commercial Appeal posted a controversial database listing Tennessee residents with permits to carry handguns in 2008.[15] The database is a public record inTennessee, but had not previously been posted online.
Scripps owns and operates theVentura County Star, which has faced many complaints involving its circulation practices rather than its editorial content. As of April 2, 2011, the Better Business Bureau listed ten (10) separate "significant" complaints from the previous three years, of which two alleged the company made unauthorized debits from customers' checking accounts, four alleged problems obtaining refunds, two alleged the company harassed a customer or former customer, two alleged improper billing, and two alleged delivery continuing after customers tried to cancel.[16] (The total number of allegations does not add to the total number of complaints because two complaints made multiple allegations.)
In May 2013, Scripps News Service discovered and published a security breach on the websites of Oklahoma-based TerraCom Inc. and an affiliate, YourTel America Inc. in which the personal information of tens of thousands of low-income Americans was publicly exposed. In response, the two companies accused Scripps of "hacking" and of violations of theComputer Fraud and Abuse Act.[17] The Illinois Attorney GeneralLisa Madigan subsequently announced an investigation into the two companies.[18]
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