Sun-Times sells Joliet Herald-News

Herald NewsThe parent company of the Sun-Times announced the sale Monday of the Joliet Herald-News to Shaw Media for an undisclosed price. The deal is expected to close by the first week in January.

“We are excited to bring the Herald-News into our established, and growing, family-owned media portfolio,” Shaw Media president John Rung said in a statement. “We expect to maintain the storied tradition of serving Joliet with a high quality, community-oriented newspaper.”

A fixture in the southwest suburbs for 100 years, the Herald-News was acquired in 2000 when former owner Copley Press sold its Fox Valley Press division to Hollinger International, then parent company of the Sun-Times. No word yet on how many employees will be affected by the sale.

Plans by Sun-Times Media to sell the 25,000-circulation southwest suburban daily were first reported here on Nov. 11.

Timothy Knight

Timothy Knight

“We have found a great buyer for the Herald-News in Shaw Media,” said Timothy Knight, CEO of Sun-Times Media owner Wrapports LLC. “This sale will allow the Sun-Times to focus its resources on transforming its core products.”

Knight disputed a report in Crain’s Chicago Business Sunday that Wrapports has turned to “other funding sources” for an injection of capital. “The recent report in Crain’s that Wrapports was seeking outside investment is incorrect,” Knight said. “Wrapports has significant remaining capital commitments from our investors to invest in new businesses and opportunities.”

Besides the Sun-Times and the Herald-News, Sun-Times Media also owns the Aurora Beacon-News, the Elgin Courier-News, the Lake County News-Sun, the Naperville Sun, the Northwest Indiana Post-Tribune and the SouthtownStar, as well as the Chicago Reader and 32 weekly newspapers published by the Pioneer Press.

Shaw Media owns newspapers, websites and other publications in St. Charles, Crystal Lake, DeKalb, Grayslake, Dixon, Sterling, Princeton and Morris, Illinois, and in Newton and Creston, Iowa.