CMG Spins Ohio Papers To Cox
The sale follows a recent federal court decision that reinstated an old FCC rule that prohibits a single owner from operating both a daily newspaper and a broadcast station in the same market. To comply with that rule, CMG, which is now majority-owned by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc., faced cutting the papers to non-daily publications or selling them to an owner that would not be encumbered by the antiquated cross-ownership rule, and this transaction ensures they can continue providing uninterrupted news coverage to their readers.
Rob Rohr will remain as VP/GM of CMG’s WHIO-TV and three Dayton radio stations — WHIO, WHKO and WZLR. Following the sale, the Ohio papers will be under the interim operational leadership of Jana Collier, who currently serves as VP of Content at CMG Ohio. The sale of the papers to CEI is expected to close in the coming weeks.