Kristen B. Payson
HOLDEN — To quote Samuel Clemens, “The report of (The Landmark’s) death was an exaggeration.”
Yes, that is the correct version of the quotation. No, it should not be the oft misquoted “Reports of my death …”.
The Landmark will go on under new ownership, and Sept. 15 will not be the last issue.
The final paperwork had not yet been signed as of The Landmark’s press date, but a Gannett spokesman said Thursday, Sept. 1, that the deal was expected to be finalized within days.
Gannett, owner of The Landmark and its sister publications, The Millbury- Sutton Chronicle, Grafton News and the Leominster Champion, has found a new home for the papers in CherryRoad Media.
CherryRoad is based in Parsippany, New Jersey.
This is not its first foray into local journalism.
CherryRoad Media CEO and founder Jeremy Gulban is also CEO of Cherry-Road Technologies, a software modernization company offering technology solutions like cloud hosting and other network systems. His father started the business in 1983, and Gulban took over operations in 2008.
In an Aug, 2 article in Editor & Publisher, “CherryRoad Media expands through rapid growth spurt,” by Alyssa Choiniere, Gulban said he saw an opportunity to support newspapers and modernize how they reach their local communities through the technology company.
Gulban said he was pleased to be able to prevent the closure of the paper.
“When we heard about the potential closure of The Landmark, The Grafton News, the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Leominster Champion, we reached out to Gannett to see if they could be saved,” Gulban said. “The bond between these newspapers and the numerous communities they serve is strong. We are excited to engage with Gannett to enable the continued operations of these newspapers as part of CherryRoad’s growing family of community newspapers.”
CherryRoad entered the industry with its first publication in late 2020, and as of early August owned 64 newspapers in 10 states. With the addition of three Michigan weeklies just last week and the four Holden papers, that tally has risen to 71 papers in 12 states.
Word of the planned closure of The Landmark had spread quickly in the past few weeks. Editor Kristen Payson was laid off Aug. 12, one of several hundred layoffs confirmed by Gannett last week. The action was widely seen as part of Gannett’s response to poor second quarter performance across the company, especially in the print area. Gannett reported a loss of $54 million on revenues of $749 million during its second quarter.
With the layoff, Gannett informed Payson that the paper’s last issue would be Sept. 15, and that it was doubtful the website, the landmark. com, would continue.
The Leominster Champion had already ceased its print publication earlier this year, but continued to maintain its website. Maureen Sullivan, editor of the Millbury Sutton Chronicle and The Grafton News, was also laid off Aug. 12. Those papers had become “replate” print editions, meaning the inside content was shared and the outer pages changed for each publication.
Plans for a “reboot” of the Champion are still being discussed, as is the best course for the Chronicle and Grafton News.
Payson will continue as editor of The Landmark.
“This is a new beginning for the paper,” she said. “The Landmark has been saved! “I am thrilled to be able to continue and expand upon the paper’s legacy. You will definitely be seeing me more around the Wachusett towns, and our correspondents will continue to root out local stories that our readers want and need to read.”
