OC Register Sale Finalized

Freedom Communications, owner of the Orange County Register, completed its deal this week to turn over ownership to the 2100 Trust media company.

Under the new ownership, the company will continue to be called Freedom.

Executives did not announce how much the deal was worth.

The newspapers that will be under the new Freedom banner will be the Register, the Desert Dispatch in Barstow, the Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Appeal-Democrat in Marysville, the Porterville Recorder, the Victorville Daily Press and the Sun in Yuma, Ariz.

``Over many decades, Freedom Communications has been a name recognized for the excellence of its journalism as well as the depth of its commitment to engagement with its communities,'' said Mitch Stern, the outgoing CEO.

``We're very pleased that the name is being passed to new ownership that firmly believes newspapers continue to play an essential role in providing the news and information that is so vital in the lives of the communities they serve,'' he said.

Freedom at its height had more than 100 daily and weekly newspapers, along with eight broadcast stations, magazines and specialty publications. The company's papers have won six Pulitzer Prizes.

As one of the oldest papers in Orange County, the Orange County Register in its heyday was best known for its commitment to local news. Like the newspaper industry in general, the Register had been subject to multiple rounds of layoffs over the last decade.

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- City News Service