Brown Publishing Company was a privately owned

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, newspaper business started by Congressman

Clarence J. Brown Clarence James Brown Sr. (July 14, 1893 – August 23, 1965) was an American politician; he represented Ohio as a Republican in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 until his death in Bethesda, Maryland in 1965. Long representi ...

Blanchester, Ohio Blanchester is a village in Clinton and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 4,224 at the 2020 census. Blanchester is part of the Wilmington, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cincinnat ...

in 1920. It ended 90 years of operations in August/September 2010 with its

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

and sale of assets to a new company formed by its creditors and called Ohio Community Media Inc. The company was previously a family-owned business; it published 18 daily newspapers, 27 weekly newspapers, and 26 free weeklies. The former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

was Brown's grandson, Roy Brown. The

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

was Roy's brother Bud Brown, father of actor

Clancy Brown Clarence James Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. His film roles include Rawhide in ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Ban ...

Bankruptcy proceedings

On April 30, 2010, the company and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in federal court in

Central Islip, New York Central Islip (also known locally by its initials as CI) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Islip, New York, Islip in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United St ...

, in the

Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, ...

in Docket 10-73295. It listed Brown and 14 affiliates, with assets of $94.1 million and $104.6 million in debts as of March 31, 2010. Its affiliates included Delaware Gazette Co., Texas Business News LLC, Utah Business Publishers LLC, Texas Community Newspapers Inc., Upstate Business News LLC, Troy Daily News Inc., SC Biz News LLC, ARG LLC, Brown Business Ledger LLC,

Dan's Papers ''Dan's Papers'' is a free weekly lifestyle publication in the Hamptons, Long Island, New York, United States, founded by Dan Rattiner. The first of the papers that would later collectively come to be known as ''Dan's Papers'' was the ''Montau ...

Inc., Business Publications LLC. Several key executives of Brown Publishing submitted a plan to purchase key assets of the company under the auspices of a newly created company, Brown Media Holdings. This plan fell through when a key lender backing the plan withdrew its offer. On September 3, 2010, it was announced that

Manhattan Media Manhattan Media is an American media company based in New York City that publishes a variety of community and political newspapers and lifestyle magazines. The company is owned by Isis Ventures Partners . Overview In 2001, the company acquired ...

had purchased ''Dan's Papers,'' ''Montauk Pioneer,'' and ''Hampton Style Magazine'' from Brown. Later in September, Brown's 14 Ohio dailies and about 50 weekly publications were transferred to

Ohio Community Media Ohio Community Media was an American privately owned publisher of daily and weekly newspapers, primarily in the state of Ohio. It was headquartered in the Dayton suburb of Miamisburg, Ohio, and was owned by Philadelphia-based Versa Capital Ma ...

, a new entity owned by Brown's creditors, in a transaction valued at $21.75 million. Over the next few months, the new company sold a "mini-empire" of business newsweeklies which Brown had assembled starting in 2007. The company sold titles in cities including

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

;

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

;

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

; and

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based Versa Capital Management completed its purchase of Ohio Community Media for an undisclosed price in May 2011. By this point, the chain consisted of 14 daily newspapers and about 30 weeklies, all located in Ohio.

Publications

Dailies

* Beavercreek - ''News Current'' *

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

- ''

Delaware Gazette ''The Delaware Gazette'' is an American daily newspaper published in Delaware, Ohio. It is owned by AIM Media Midwest. The newspaper is published on weekday and Saturday mornings and is the only daily newspaper in Delaware County, Ohio. The pap ...

'' *

Fairborn Fairborn is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,620 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and part of the Dayton metropolitan area. The city is home to Wright State University, which serves nea ...

- ''Daily Herald'' *

Galion Galion ( ) is a city in Crawford, Morrow, and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 10,453 at the 2020 census. Galion is the second-largest city in Crawford County after Bucyrus. The Crawford County portion of Galio ...

- ''Inquirer'' * Greenville - ''Advocate'' * Hillsboro - ''Times-Gazette'' *

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

- ''Madison Press'' * Piqua - ''Daily Call'' * Sidney - '' Daily News'' *

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

- ''Daily News'' * Urbana - ''Daily Citizen'' * Washington Court House - ''Record-Herald'' * Wilmington - ''News Journal'' *

Xenia Xenia may refer to: People * Xenia (name), a feminine given name; includes a list of people with this name Places United States ''listed alphabetically by state'' * Xenia, Illinois, a village in Clay County ** Xenia Township, Clay County, Il ...

- ''Daily Gazette''

Paid weeklies

* Bellville - The Bellville Star * Cardington - Morrow County Independent *

Columbus Grove Columbus Grove is a village in Pleasant Township, Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,160 at the 2020 census. History Columbus Grove was founded in 1842. A large share of the early settlers being natives of Columbus, Ohio ...

- Putnam County Vidette *

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

- Times Community Newspapers * Eaton - The Register-Herald * Englewood Independent *

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

The Athens Messenger ''The Athens Messenger'' is a daily newspaper published in Athens, Ohio, United States, serving Athens and the surrounding communities of Athens County. History ''The Athens Messenger'' was established in 1848, and became a daily publication ...

Huber Heights Huber Heights is a city in Montgomery and Miami Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a suburb of Dayton. The population was 43,439 at the 2020 census. This was a 14% increase since the 2010 census, making it the largest growth in Montgomery ...

Courier * New Carlisle Sun Times Weekend Edition * Tipp City Herald * Vandalia Drummer News * West Milton Record * Fredericktown - Knox County Citizen * Georgetown - The News Democrat *

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

- Times Journal *

McArthur McArthur may refer to: People * McArthur (surname) Geography * McArthur, Arkansas, an unincorporated town in Desha County * McArthur, California, in Shasta County * McArthur, Modoc County, California * McArthur, Ohio * McArthur Basin, a large int ...

- Vinton County Courier * Mechanicsburg - The Telegram * Mount Gilead - The Morrow County Sentinel * Mount Sterling - The Tribune *

New Lexington New Lexington is a village in and the county seat of Perry County, Ohio, United States, southwest of Zanesville and miles southeast of Columbus. The population was 4,435 at the 2020 census. History Early history The area around New Lexington ...

- Perry County Tribune *

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

- Putnam County Sentinel * Plain City - Plain City Advocate * Ripley - The Ripley Bee * Sunbury - The Sunbury News * Waverly - Pike County News Watchman * West Union - People's Defender

Free weeklies

Ohio

* Circleville - Pickaway County Paper *

- The Scoop *

- Times Community Newspapers * Beavercreek News-Current Extra * Centerville-

Bellbrook Bellbrook is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,317 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It sits about southeast of Dayton. History Bellbrook was laid out in 1816. The nam ...

Times *

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

- Oakwood Times * Springboro Sun *

Wright-Patterson AFB Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wr ...

- Skywrighter * Eaton - Weekend Edition *

- Advertiser *

Gallipolis Gallipolis ( ) is a village in Gallia County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about southeast of Chillicothe and northwest of Charleston, West Virginia. The population was 3,313 ...

- River Cities & More * Georgetown - The News Democrat (Sunday) * Greenville - Sunday Edition * Hillsboro - The County Shopper *

- Community Shopper *

- Madison Press Weekly Review * Mount Gilead - Morrow County Advertiser *

- Perry County Shopper *

- Putnam County Advertiser * Piqua - Miami County Advocate *

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

- The Community Common * Urbana - Sunday Extra * Van Wert - Sign of the Times * Washington C.H. - South Central Ohio Shopper * Waverly/ Chillicothe - Pike/Ross County Paper * West Union - People's Defender (Weekend Edition) * Wilmington - Star Republican *

- Greene County Shopper

Former holdings, New York

Bridgehampton, New York Bridgehampton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census. Bridgehampton is in the town of Southampton, on Long Island. Shortly aft ...

- Dan's Papers *

- Hampton Style *

Montauk, New York Montauk ( ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in East Hampton, New York, East Hampton and Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 Un ...

- Montauk Pioneer

References

External links

Brown Publishing Company website

Ohio Community Media - successor company
{{Authority control Newspaper companies of the United States 1920 establishments in Ohio Publishing companies established in 1920