HD Media acquires West Virginia Group from Civitas Media

HD Media has acquired four West Virginia newspapers from North Carolina-based Civitas Media.

Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, N.M., represented Civitas Media in the transaction.

The newspapers and their related websites include the Logan Banner, Williamson Daily News, Coal Valley News and The Pineville Independent Herald.

The Logan and Williamson newspapers are published five days a week, Tuesday through Friday and a Sunday edition. The Coal Valley News and The Independent Herald are weeklies and published on Wednesday. HD Media publishes The Huntington Herald-Dispatch, The Wayne County News, The Putnam Herald, The Lawrence Herald, Tri-State Weekly and River Cities Magazine.

"We are really excited to add these institutions that have combined over 250 years of news reporting," said Doug Reynolds, managing partner of HD Media. "We are confident that we can improve audience engagement in our four new markets and provide local news and leadership that generations of readers have supported."

The Logan Banner has been serving Logan and its region since 1888. It was first published and edited by Henry Clay Ragland and is Logan County's oldest commercial business still in existence.

The Williamson Daily News was founded in 1912 and has been serving the Tug Valley region for more than 100 years.

The Coal Valley News is based in Madison, the county seat of Boone County, and was founded in 1925.

The Independent Herald has been serving the people of Wyoming County since 1909 and is the oldest continuing business in Pineville.

"We are looking forward to serving the communities, readers and advertisers in Logan, Mingo, Boone and Wyoming counties," said Ed Dawson, editor and publisher of The Herald-Dispatch. "I think there will be many opportunities to work together to provide better news coverage and marketing opportunities for these communities and the region."