MediaNews Group has acquired The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa and its sister publications from Sonoma Media Investments.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed by either company. The transaction included the Sonoma Index-Tribune, Petaluma Argus-Courier, North Bay Business Journal, Sonoma magazine, Sonoma County Gazette and the Spanish language La Prensa Sonoma.
Darius Anderson, managing member of Sonoma Media Investments, said the transition to MNG was the best option to keep “a viable, independent local press” in the North Bay community. He and a group of investors bought the newspaper group in 2012, a time when The Press Democrat’s fate was uncertain.
“We believe that the newspaper, its staff and most importantly the public will be best served under the stewardship of MediaNews Group, with the newspaper expertise and financial resources necessary to carry on our mission of delivering the highest-caliber local journalism for future North Bay generations,” he said in a statement.
The Press Democrat won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for its breaking news reporting on the Tubbs Fire.
The sale expands MediaNews Group’s presence in the Bay Area, where it owns San Jose Mercury News and the East Bay Times. Nationwide, MNG owns 68 daily newspapers, including the local Lake County Record-Bee, the Ukiah Daily Journal and the Fort Bragg Advocate.
