Pamplin Media, the largest newspaper group in the Portland metro area, announced Monday it has sold its operations to Carpenter Media Group.
Pamplin owns more than two dozen Oregon publications and websites, including the the Portland Tribune. The media organization primarily operates in the suburban and exurban areas around Portland, though it also runs newspapers in Central Oregon.
The Tribune reports that owner Robert Pamplin sold the company to the Mississippi-based Carpenter Media Group, but did not disclose the sales price. The deal was effective on June 1st.
“Due to age and health reasons, it made sense to pass the company on to someone else who will carry on the tradition of balanced journalism, the old-fashioned way,” the 82-year-old Pamplin said in a written statement.
It was not immediately clear what effect the sale will have on Pamplin’s newspaper operations.
Pamplin launched the Portland Tribune in 2001, and the company rapidly grew. In some small communities, Pamplin papers operate as the sole news operations covering those areas. But the company has faced significant financial concerns in recent years, as reported by Willamette Week.
Pamplin Media Group’s current president, J. Brian Monihan, will continue to lead the newspapers as Carpenter’s regional publisher, according to the Tribune.
With the acquisition of Pamplin, Carpenter Media Group now owns more than 180 publications and websites in the U.S. and Canada.