The Joplin Globe purchased by Alabama-based newspaper chain

Alabama-based Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. is now a member of the Missouri press community.

CNHI made its entry to the Show-Me state when it finalized the purchase of The Joplin Globe March 27. The $180 million acquisition was part of a four-paper buy, which included the Ashland Daily Independent in Kentucky, the Mankato Free Press in Minnesota and the Sharon Herald in Pennsylvania, said Mike L. Reed, president and chief executive officer of CNHI.

The sale of the four papers was decided on after an evaluation of Ottaway Newspapers Inc.'s 19 daily newspapers, said Joseph Richter, president of Ottaway. Ottaway, a 66-year-old wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co., has annual revenues of $270 million, employs 2,500 and has roughly 380,000 in circulation after the sale. Its home office is in Campbell Hall, N.Y.

The Globe had been owned by Ottaway since 1976.

CNHI's bigger plans

The purchase was an exact fit with CNHI's acquisition strategy "to acquire mid-size market daily newspapers with circulation in the range of 20,000 to 75,000," Reed said.

The buy added about 120 employees from Joplin to CNHI's roster and, including the other papers, some 550 overall, said Yvette Northcutt, human resources director for the company.

"When the former owners of The Joplin Globe put these papers out for sale, it was exactly in the market that we were looking for," Northcutt said. Though The Globe is CNHI's first Missouri paper, its proximity to the company's Oklahoma and Texas holdings helps in combining synergies of operation and economies of scale, she added.

A century-old tradition

The Globe has been in operation for 105 years, said Todd Taylor, administrative director of human resources for the paper. He said the only changes to its operation since the new owners took over have been the application of CNHI's own accounting systems to handle retail advertising and circulation matters.

Tim Robinson, controller for The Globe, wouldn't disclose the paper's annual revenues since it is now private again. He said the paper has a daily paid circulation of 32,000 and a Sunday run of 39,000; it is sent to 20 counties in a four-state area.

Strength in numbers

Reed said CNHI's real expertise is in running mid-level markets where the company can capitalize on its internal strengths.

"We're most interested in internal, organic growth and the number one method of growing our revenue is cash flow," he said.

CNHI is a 5-year-old employee-owned company with its home office employing 70 people in Birmingham, Ala. Nationwide the firm has some 7,000 employees working on its 108 daily newspapers and 100 weeklies, Reed said.

CNHI's most recent annual revenues of about $500 million were generated from a circulation base of 1.1 million, Reed said. The company has grown steadily since its inception. It did about $35 million in sales its first year, he added. He took over the top spot in October 1999.