Tag: American Consolidated Media

Jeremy Halbreich to head Sun-Times Media

Former Dallas Morning News Manager and CEO of American Consolidated Media (my former employer), Jeremy Halbreich, is heading to the Windy City.

According to the Chicago Tribune ::

The management shakeup at Sun-Times Media Group Inc. continued Wednesday, as the Chicago newspaper publishing company’s newly installed board tapped one of the company’s directors to serve as chairman and interim chief executive officer.

The new chairman is Jeremy Halbreich, former general manager of the Dallas Morning News and one of three directors elected last month when a dissident shareholder’s successful proxy fight ousted all but one of Sun-Times Media’s sitting directors. As chairman, Halbreich succeeds Raymond Seitz, who lost his seat in January in the proxy fight.

Halbreich founded American Consolidated Media roughly 10 years ago after he left the Dallas Morning News. The newspaper group grew and was sold to Macquarie Media Group (for $80 million) a few months before I left the Waxahachie Daily Light (an ACM owned paper).

With the money and backing of the Australian Macquarie Media Group Halbreich told the Dallas Business Journal that “ACM has grown into the fifth-largest community newspaper group in the U.S.”

Halbreich remained as CEO of American Consolidated until August 2008 when he stepped down and Liam Stewart, an ACM asset manager, was appointed interim CEO.

“Now that the planned acquisition and expansion phase of ACM is complete, it is an appropriate time for me to step down from full-time responsibilities,” Halbreich said at the time of his resignation.

Some have suggested that the Macquarie Media Group purposely purchased up many of the smaller-town newspapers along I-35 in order to help control the local media as it relates to the Trans-Texas Corridor (aka the suggested Mexico to Canada toll road). Macquarie Bank (MMG’s parent company) is heavily invested in toll projects around the US and many expect them to play a roll in many future projects as well.

WDL endorses Ron Paul

The Waxahachie Daily Light endorse Ron Paul’s run for the White House Friday:

In the race for the Republican nomination for the president of the United States, the one candidate we feel offers America’s best hope for much needed change is Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

While candidates in both parties have seized upon the message of change, in reality, with the exception of one candidate, the change being promised is a shift from one special interest group to another.

Ron Paul is the only true candidate of change.

Largely ignored by the mainstream media, he has trailed the GOP frontrunners in the initial primaries. He has been labeled as a “radical” by the established political guard in Washington. They fear his message because they know, if Paul is elected, things will change in D.C.

Read more

ACM buys 19 more newspapers

The parent company of the Waxahachie Daily Light has purchased 19 more publications in the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan areas.
From the WDL blog:
From STAFF REPORTS

DALLAS — American Consolidated Media LLC (“ACM”) of Dallas announced Friday that it has purchased Superior Publishing Corporation (“SPC”), publisher of 19 publications in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
The announcement was made by Jeremy L. Halbreich, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of ACM along with Charles R. Johnson, President and CEO of SPC. The agreement signed Friday is expected to close by the end of June.
“In the past month my associates and I have traveled northern Minnesota and Wisconsin on several occasions and we could not be more impressed by these communities and the people,” Halbreich commented. “ACM has a broad strategy to build a newspaper company in the United States comprised of superior, high quality, local community newspapers with traditions of strong service to their local communities. The quality publications of SPC along with their management and employees fit this pattern perfectly.”
American Consolidated Media was founded by Halbreich in 1998 and became part of Macquarie Media Group in February of this year. With the addition of SPC, the company will grow to 65 publications, including nine daily newspapers, in Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
“This is a great fit and future for our employees, our newspapers and our communities. ACM has an aggressive strategy of growth and investment in the communities served by their publications. I look forward to working with and being part of the ACM team,” Johnson said. He will remain as President and CEO of the SPC group of newspapers for ACM.
American Consolidated Media is acquiring SPC from MCG Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: MCGC), a Business Development Company.
MCG Capital Corporation was advised in this transaction by Owen Van Essen of Dirks, Van Essen & Murray of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
ACM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Macquarie Media Group (“MMG”), a publicly-traded investment vehicle listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. MMG is based in Sydney, Australia and holds a portfolio of media businesses globally including 100 percent interest in Macquarie Regional Radioworks, owner and operator of 87 rural and regional radio stations located throughout Australia; 60 percent interest in Taiwan Broadband Communications, one of three leading cable television broadcasters in Taiwan; and, 13.8 percent interest in Southern Cross Broadcasting, a publicly-traded company with holdings in radio and television broadcasting located in the larger cities of Australia.
ACM currently owns and operates six daily newspapers in Alice, Brownwood, Stephenville and Waxahachie, Texas and in Miami and Grove Oklahoma; 35 weekly publications in McAllen, Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito-Los Fresnos, Laredo, Edinburg, Rio Grande City, Bonham, Fannin County, Midlothian, Ennis, Red Oak, Italy, Alvarado, Ellis County, Erath County, Brown County, Ballinger, Winters, Hearne, Franklin, Calvert, Robertson County, Orange Grove, Premont, Jim Wells County, Kingsville, Freer, Robstown and Nueces County, Texas and in Ottawa County, Picher, Delaware County, Langley and Jay, Oklahoma; and five specialty publications in Texas and Oklahoma.