Springfield Business Journal publisher to acquire The Daily Events

Jeff Schrag has owned The Daily Events since May 1995.

[Editor's note: Because this news impacts Springfield Business Journal, we have opted to place this article in front of the paywall. More information has been added to this story as of 2:30 p.m., Dec. 17]

Marty Goodnight, Springfield Business Journal publisher and incoming owner as of Jan. 2, 2026, said this morning that he and his wife, Shallina Goodnight, will acquire The Daily Events as an independent sister company, according to a news release.

Goodnight told SBJ’s newsroom in an email that the purchase includes 100% ownership of The Daily Events through Daily Events Media LLC.

The deal is expected to close Dec. 31, according to the news release.

Goodnight declined to disclose his investment in making the purchase, saying “this is a deliberate, long-term investment in a publication that plays a vital role in the regional business ecosystem.”

Goodnight said there are no immediate plans to change staffing or relocate from The Daily Events’ current location at 310 W. Walnut Street. The publication will continue to operate as a separate company with its own identity, mission and established publishing routines, according to the release.

“Our focus right now is a smooth transition and continuing to serve subscribers and advertisers without disruption,” Goodnight said.

Since May 1995, The Daily Events has been owned by Springfield entrepreneur Jeff Schrag, who in 2024 was elected the city’s mayor. Schrag purchased The Daily Events from Earnest and Juanita Young after relocating to Springfield, according to the release.

Asked why he decided to sell The Daily Events after 30 years of ownership, Schrag told SBJ this morning, “You don’t want to wait until it’s too late to sell something. If things are going good, you just kind of know. I don’t know how to explain it. Anybody who’s retired could probably understand it. At some point, it just feels right to move on.”

Schrag said he had not been shopping the business around for sale, but had recently connected with SBJ’s Goodnight.

“It just seemed like a great fit,” Schrag said of his decision to sell his newspaper to the Goodnights.

Schrag described balancing the work of an entrepreneur running properties like The Daily Events with his work as mayor of Missouri’s third-largest city.

“It’s a challenge to keep the calendar going. And it’s one thing to go to meetings. It’s another thing to move community interest forward," he said. "Because that is something that’s kind of always on your mind. We’ve got these things. We’ve got this idea. We’re going to move it forward. And that just takes a lot of mental energy. So I think it would be very hard if you didn’t have an established business, if you had a business that you were wanting to grow or get off the ground. That also takes up a great deal of the same type of mental energy.”

The Daily Events’ print circulation was listed as 287 by the Missouri Press Association in recent years. Goodnight characterized it as a “specialized professional audience.”

“This is an investment in the Business Authority brand,” Goodnight said in the release. “It’s about preserving trusted local institutions and ensuring business leaders continue to have dependable, daily information they can rely on.”