Brown Publishing Company was a privately owned Cincinnati, Ohio, newspaper business started by Congressman Clarence J. Brown in Blanchester, Ohio in 1920. It ended 90 years of operations in August/September 2010 with its

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

and sale of assets to a new company formed by its creditors and called Ohio Community Media Inc. The company was previously a family-owned business; it published 18 daily newspapers, 27 weekly newspapers, and 26 free weeklies. The former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

was Brown's grandson,

Roy Brown Roy Brown may refer to: Arts, music and entertainment * Roy Brown (blues musician) (1920/25–1981), American blues musician who was a pioneer of rock and roll * Roy Brown (Puerto Rican musician) (born 1945), Puerto Rican musician and folk singer ...

. The

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

was Roy's brother Clancy Brown, who is also an actor.

Bankruptcy proceedings

On April 30, 2010, the company and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in federal court in Central Islip, New York, in the Eastern District of New York in Docket 10-73295. It listed Brown and 14 affiliates, with assets of $94.1 million and $104.6 million in debts as of March 31, 2010. Its affiliates included Delaware Gazette Co., Texas Business News LLC, Utah Business Publishers LLC, Texas Community Newspapers Inc., Upstate Business News LLC, Troy Daily News Inc., SC Biz News LLC, ARG LLC, Brown Business Ledger LLC, Dan's Papers Inc., Business Publications LLC. Several key executives of Brown Publishing submitted a plan to purchase key assets of the company under the auspices of a newly created company, Brown Media Holdings. This plan fell through when a key lender backing the plan withdrew its offer. On September 3, 2010, it was announced that Manhattan Media had purchased ''Dan's Papers,'' ''Montauk Pioneer,'' and ''Hampton Style Magazine'' from Brown. Later in September, Brown's 14 Ohio dailies and about 50 weekly publications were transferred to Ohio Community Media, a new entity owned by Brown's creditors, in a transaction valued at $21.75 million. Over the next few months, the new company sold a "mini-empire" of business newsweeklies which Brown had assembled starting in 2007. The company sold titles in cities including

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Fort Worth, Texas; and Naperville, Illinois. Philadelphia-based Versa Capital Management completed its purchase of Ohio Community Media for an undisclosed price in May 2011. By this point, the chain consisted of 14 daily newspapers and about 30 weeklies, all located in Ohio.

Publications

Dailies

* Beavercreek - ''News Current'' * Delaware - ''

Delaware Gazette ''The Delaware Gazette'' is an American daily newspaper published in Delaware, Ohio. It is owned by AIM Media Midwest. The newspaper is published on weekday and Saturday mornings and is the only daily newspaper in Delaware County, Ohio. The pape ...

'' *

Fairborn Fairborn is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,620 at the 2020 census. Fairborn is a suburb of Dayton, and part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the only city in the world named Fairborn, a port ...

- ''Daily Herald'' * Galion - ''Inquirer'' * Greenville - ''Advocate'' * Hillsboro - ''Times-Gazette'' * London - ''Madison Press'' * Piqua - ''Daily Call'' *

Sidney Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...

- '' Daily News'' * Troy - ''Daily News'' *

Urbana __NOTOC__ Urbana can refer to: Places Italy *Urbana, Italy United States *Urbana, Illinois **Urbana (conference), a Christian conference formerly held in Urbana, Illinois *Urbana, Indiana * Urbana, Iowa *Urbana, Kansas * Urbana, Maryland *Urbana, ...

- ''Daily Citizen'' *

Washington Court House Washington Court House (often abbreviated as Washington C.H.) is a city in Union Township, Fayette County, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located between Cincinnati and Columbus. The population grew almost 1.5% from 2010 to ...

- ''Record-Herald'' * Wilmington - ''News Journal'' * Xenia - ''Daily Gazette''

Paid weeklies

* Bellville - The Bellville Star * Cardington - Morrow County Independent *

Columbus Grove Columbus Grove is a village in Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,137 at the 2010 census. Etymology and history Columbus Grove was founded in 1842. A large share of the early settlers being natives of Columbus, Ohio caused ...

- Putnam County Vidette *

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

- Times Community Newspapers *

Eaton Eaton may refer to: Buildings Canada * Eaton Centre, the name of various shopping malls in Canada due to having been anchored by an Eaton's store * Eaton's / John Maryon Tower, a cancelled skyscraper in Toronto * Eaton Hall (King City), a confere ...

- The Register-Herald * Englewood Independent * Athens

The Athens Messenger ''The Athens Messenger'' is a daily newspaper published in Athens, Ohio, United States, serving Athens and the surrounding communities of Athens County. ''The Athens Messenger'' was established in 1848, and became a daily publication in 1904. It h ...

Huber Heights Huber Heights is a suburb of Dayton in Montgomery and Miami counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Its origins trace back to the now-defunct Wayne Township, which was settled in the early-mid 1800s. Wayne Township was incorporated as the City of Hube ...

Courier * New Carlisle Sun Times Weekend Edition *

Tipp City Tipp City is a city in Miami County, Ohio, Miami County, Ohio, United States just outside Dayton. The population was 9,689 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. Formerly known as Tippecanoe, and then Tippecanoe City. Later, it was renamed ...

Herald * Vandalia Drummer News * West Milton Record * Fredericktown - Knox County Citizen * Georgetown - The News Democrat * Jackson - Times Journal * McArthur - Vinton County Courier * Mechanicsburg - The Telegram * Mount Gilead - The Morrow County Sentinel * Mount Sterling - The Tribune *

New Lexington New Lexington is a village in and the county seat of Perry County, Ohio, United States, southwest of Zanesville and miles southeast of Columbus. The population was 4,731 at the 2010 census. In 2020, New Lexington’s historical Main Street und ...

- Perry County Tribune *

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

- Putnam County Sentinel * Plain City - Plain City Advocate *

Ripley Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1 * Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Ali ...

- The Ripley Bee * Sunbury - The Sunbury News * Waverly - Pike County News Watchman * West Union - People's Defender

Free weeklies

Ohio

* Circleville - Pickaway County Paper *

- The Scoop *

- Times Community Newspapers * Beavercreek News-Current Extra * Centerville-

Bellbrook Bellbrook is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,317 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It sits about 20.5 miles, ( 17km) south east from central Dayton. History Bellbroo ...

Times * Kettering- Oakwood Times * Springboro Sun *

Wright-Patterson AFB Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wri ...

- Skywrighter *

- Weekend Edition * Galion - Advertiser *

Gallipolis Gallipolis ( ) is a chartered village (United States)#Ohio, village in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Gallia County, Ohio, Gallia County. The municipality is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about 55 miles southeast of ...

- River Cities & More * Georgetown - The News Democrat (Sunday) * Greenville - Sunday Edition * Hillsboro - The County Shopper * Jackson - Community Shopper * London - Madison Press Weekly Review * Mount Gilead - Morrow County Advertiser *

- Perry County Shopper *

- Putnam County Advertiser * Piqua - Miami County Advocate * Portsmouth - The Community Common *

- Sunday Extra * Van Wert - Sign of the Times * Washington C.H. - South Central Ohio Shopper * Waverly/ Chillicothe - Pike/Ross County Paper * West Union - People's Defender (Weekend Edition) * Wilmington - Star Republican * Xenia - Greene County Shopper

Former holdings, New York

* Bridgehampton, New York - Dan's Papers * Bridgehampton, New York - Hampton Style *

Montauk, New York Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...

- Montauk Pioneer

References

External links

Brown Publishing Company websiteOhio Community Media - successor company
{{Authority control Newspaper companies of the United States 1920 establishments in Ohio Publishing companies established in 1920