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Aspen Times owner acquires papers in Craig and Steamboat

Staff report

Colorado Mountain News Media Co, a subsidiary of Swift Communications Inc, the owner of The Aspen Times, will acquire the Steamboat Pilot & Today and Craig Daily Press from WorldWest LLC, it was announced this week.

The deal, whose terms were not disclosed by the privately held companies, is expected to be complete Aug. 1.

The 131-year-old paid weekly Steamboat Pilot & Today publishes Sundays and is complemented by the free daily Steamboat Today, online news site SteamboatToday.com and a number of glossy magazines. The papers have been recognized with General Excellence awards more than a dozen times by the Colorado Press Association. A companion website, ExploreSteamboat.com, has national reach with visitors interested in the renowned vacation destination area.



The Craig Daily Press has a paid circulation of 1,700 and publishes four days a week.

“We have long admired the journalistic and operational excellence of The Steamboat Pilot & Today and the Craig Daily Press and the important leadership position these organizations hold in their communities,” said Bill Waters, CEO of Swift Communications.




“Opportunities abound to share content, resources, strategy and career opportunities across our Rocky Mountain, Wasatch Mountain and Sierra Nevada/Lake Tahoe enterprises, strengthening our commitment to these world class resort markets,” Waters said. “We welcome these great teams and so look forward to them joining Swift Communications.”

Former Craig Daily Press publishers Bryce Jacobson and Samantha Johnston are publishers for Swift newspapers in Greeley and Aspen, respectively, the Daily Press noted.

“It is interesting that several of our former employees have gone on to achieve high-ranking positions with the Swift newspaper network. I believe Swift will do an excellent job and run a quality newspaper,” said Dan Simons, one of the family owners of Worldwest.

Worldwest is ending its newspaper ownership, the Daily Press reported.

WorldWest will sell its Arizona newspaper, Payson Roundup, to White Mountain Publishing LLC, a division of Kramer Publications based in Case Grande, Arizona.

The Simons family also is selling media operations of The World Company, including the Lawrence Journal-World in Kansas, to Ogden Newspapers Inc. of West Virginia. The World Company and WorldWest have common ownership. The transactions end four generations of newspaper publishing for the Simons family, the Daily Press said.

Swift Communications, headquartered in Carson City, Nevada, is a media company with magazines, newspaper and digital publications in the Midwest and West. Colorado Mountain News Media includes the Post Independent and Rifle Citizen Telegram; the Vail Daily, Summit Daily, Aspen Times, Sky-Hi News and affiliated weeklies.

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