Nashua Telegraph Changing Hands

 (Photo credit: StarrGazr)

After a 36-year tenure, Bryn Mawr, Penn.-based Independent Publications Inc. on April 22 will turn over the reins of The Nashua Telegraph to the Ogden Newspapers, Inc. chain, Telegraph Publisher Terrence L. Williams announced today.

The Telegraph, which has long been owned by the McLean family, will join the Ogden family stable, giving the media conglomerate, which began in West Virginia, a daily newspaper presence in 13 states. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, though besides the Telegraph, Ogden also will be taking on the Cabinet newspapers, which include the Bedford Journal and Milford Cabinet.

Robert M. Nutting, the CEO of Ogden, which owns more than 40 newspapers, is the incoming chair of the Newspaper Association of America.

Nashua Telegraph on the Block

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Nashua Telegraph, the daily newspaper reporting on New Hampshire's second-largest city, last week was put up for sale, the paper announced.

Owned since 1977 by Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based Independent Publications, Inc.("IPI"), the Telegraph publishes a daily, a weekly and maintains the nashuatelegraph.com Web site. IPI is also looking for a buyer for its other newspapers and holdings, according to the Telegraph story.

Earlier this year, IPI unloaded its Muzak franchises, for which the elevator-riding staff of "TUOL" is grateful.

Labor Dispute Has Union Leader Newsers Operating Incognito

Image via WikipediaPicketers at public events involving the N.H. presidential primary were not limited to those showing their disdain for the field of GOP candidates; some were photogs and reporters for the Granite State's only statewide daily, the N.H. Union Leader, protesting a protracted contract dispute with management, according to a report by a rival, The Nashua Telegraph.

Where the names of journalists and photographers usually appear in the daily accompanying their work, the word Staff instead appears, as the paper endures a two-week byline strike. Negotiations between management and the Newspaper Guild have dragged on for months.

Although offering a better pay scale and benefits package than most of its in-state competitors (Full Disclosure: the devoted staff of "TUOL" long ago wrote for the Union Leader  when New Hampshire's "Man of the Mountain" was still a boy), the increased use of correspondents, who are not covered by the contract, doesn't sit well with staffers. Correspondents' bylines continue to appear in the Union Leader as the strife continues.

NH Papers: Don't Take Free Online Content for Granite

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Count The Concord Monitor, The Portsmouth Herald, The Nashua Telegraph and The Conway Daily Sun among Granite State newspapers that will institute metered payment systems for online news content before the year is out.

Access to breaking news will remain free and unrestricted, but online readers otherwise will have a ceiling on free page views monthly before being required to register on the Web site and pay for additional viewings. The Dow Jones-owned Seacoast Media Group, which publishes The Portsmouth Herald, is expected to unveil its metered payment program sometime this fall.

Full Disclosure:  New Hampshire newspapers are near and dear to the intrepid "TUOL" staff, which more years ago than will be admitted to, worked as a reporter at The N.H. Union-Leader. The Union-Leader, which does not publish all its stories online, is not listed among the papers going the metered payment route, opting to dip its toes in the 20th Century, before rushing into the 21st.