The Grafton News is SOLD, saved from Gannett
The Grafton News is getting another shot at life — an owner that is not Gannett.
CherryRoad Media is buying The Grafton News, the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, The Landmark in Holden and the Leominster Champion from Gannett, which also owns the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
The sale is expected to close next week, according to an article posted this morning on The Grafton News’ website.
“When we heard about the potential closure of The Landmark, The Grafton News, the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and the Leominster Champion, we reached out to Gannett to see if they could be saved,” CherryRoad Media CEO and founder Jeremy Gulban was quoted in the article. “The bond between these newspapers and the numerous communities they serve is strong. We are excited to engage with Gannett to enable the continued operations of these newspapers as part of CherryRoad’s growing family of community newspapers.”
With the sale, the New Jersey-based CherryRoad will own 71 papers in 12 states. The company has been acquiring small newspapers since late 2020.
In August, Gannett laid off Grafton News editor Maureen Sullivan, the only staffer for both Grafton and the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle. The Landmark had been marked to cease publication next week.
The Grafton News was founded in 1958 by Charlie Bolack, who swatted away offers to buy the publication for decades. The quirky weekly eschewed an online presence until 2009 after the launch of its first local online competitor, GraftonTimes.com (later The Daily Grafton and The Grafton Daily Voice).
Bolack retired as editor and publisher in 2012, when he sold it to Don Clark, Wendy Watkins and Cynthia Bissell. In 2015, after Landmark owner Kirk Davis acquired online publication The Grafton Villager from Richard Price, the trio sold The Grafton News to Landmark Corp.
In February 2018, Davis — who was also chief executive officer at GateHouse — sold the Landmark papers to GateHouse. GateHouse subsequently underwent a $1.1 billion takeover of Gannett in 2019, taking on the much better-known Gannett name.
