New Media completes the acquisition of Harris Enterprises

New Media Investment Group Inc. has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Harris Enterprises Inc.

Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, N.M., represented Harris Enterprises in the sale.  

Harris, the family-owned collection of local media assets in central Kansas and eastern Iowa, is comprised of six newspapers-of-record and multiple weekly and niche print products.

Today, its largest titles include The Hutchinson News (26,200 daily circulation), Salina Journal (24,900 daily circulation), The Burlington Hawk Eye (15,200 daily circulation), The Hays Daily News (8,000 daily circulation), The Garden City Telegram (6,700 daily circulation) and The Ottawa Herald (3,600 circulation, published three times per week). In addition to the print publications, the acquisition also includes Harris' press facilities and all related websites and other digital operations.

"Dating back as far as 1837, the Harris publications have an established history of providing local news and information to the communities they serve, making them a natural fit for New Media's growing portfolio of local media assets," said Michael E. Reed, New Media president and chief executive officer. "After owning the newspapers for over a century, we're honored the Harris family has chosen New Media as the future owners and look forward to working with their employees to further enhance the partnership the publications have within their respective communities."

New Media operates newspapers and associated websites in a number of Kansas communities, including Dodge City, McPherson, Newton and Pittsburg, and in Ames and other cities in Iowa. It has newspapers in 36 states and hundreds of markets. It also operates Propel Marketing, a digital marketing services platform, which provides a broad range of solutions for small and mid-size business customers.