Warren Buffett yesterday acquired another small newspaper in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to his growing portfolio of small town community-focused newspapers. A subsidiary of Buffett's investment arm Berkshire Hathaway, BH Media Group, yesterday acquired the Tulsa World, which has a daily circulation of 95,000, from the Lorton family for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 1905, Tulsa World is owned and operated for four generations by the Lorton family of Tulsa. With a daily circulation of 95,000 and a Sunday circulation of 133,000, Tulsa World is th elargest and best-read local newspaper in Tulsa County and the surrounding areas and is the second-most widely circulated newspaper in Oklahoma, after The Oklahoman. Robert Lorton Jr, the chairman of the World Publishing Company, which owns the Tulsa World, said selling to Berkshire would provide a secure future for the Tulsa newspaper. "Our family takes great pride in the Tulsa World and its many years of service to Tulsa and Oklahoma. The newspaper business has become a difficult business model within a changing society and in particular for local family owned newspapers." Tulsa World will now be merged with BH Media Group, which already owns 28 daily newspapers and 42 weekly newspapers in Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. It will be the third-largest newspaper in the BH Media Group portfolio, behind the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska and the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. Two years ago, Buffett, a former newspaper delivery boy, told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that most US newspapers could face unending losses and that he would not think of buying most of them. Although most analysts do not see long-term value of the print media, Buffett has now reversed his opinion and has defended newspapers, saying that they will have a decent future if they continue delivering information that cannot be found elsewhere. "In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no more important institution than the local paper," Buffett had said. Terry Kroeger, the CEO of BH Media Group, said, "The Tulsa World is a special newspaper in an outstanding market, and we are honoured to have the opportunity to own it. This is a great fit for our company, and we look forward for this region." Kroeger added that the newspaper's circulation, profitability and its strong connections to the local community made the World an attractive purchase and community-oriented newspapers are key to the BH Media Group strategy. Warren Buffett had acquired 63 Media General newspapers last year for $142 million and the Omaha World-Herald Co for a reported $150 million and folded them into a new Berkshire Hathaway division called BH Media Group that is managed by World Media Enterprises. Buffett is also the largest shareholder in Washington Post with a 23-per cent stake, and holds a small stake in the reorganised newspaper chain Lee Enterprises. Source: Domain-B
