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Quincy Media, Inc.
Quincy
FormerlyQuincy Newspapers, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryMedia
FoundedJune 1, 1926(1926-06-01)
DefunctAugust 2, 2021(2021-08-02)
FateNewspapers spun off to Phillips Media Group
Broadcast assets acquired byGray TelevisionandAllen Media Broadcasting
SuccessorGray Television
Headquarters130 South Fifth Street,
Quincy, Illinois
,
USA
Key people
Ralph M. Oakley
(President/CEO)
Pete Oakley
Number of employees
900+
Websitequincymediacareers.com

Quincy Media, Inc.,formerly known asQuincy Newspapers, Inc.,was a family-owned media company that originated in the newspapers ofQuincy, Illinois.The company's history can be traced back to 1835, when theBounty Land Registerwas one of four newspapers inIllinois.Over the nextcentury,a number of mergers followed. The company moved intoradioin 1947 and begantelevisionbroadcasts in 1953.

The company was owned by the Oakley and Lindsay families of Quincy.

History[edit]

The corporation was formed in Quincy on June 1, 1926, asQuincy Newspapersafter the merger of theQuincy Herald,direct descendant of theIllinois Bounty Land Registerfirst published in Quincy in 1835, and theQuincy Whig-Journal,descendant of theQuincy Whigfounded in 1838. The two papers were combined to form a single daily paper, theQuincy Herald-Whig.[1]

TheHeraldwas purchased in September 1891 by three men fromRockford,Charles L. Miller, Hedley John Eaton and Edmund Botsford. Miller had earlier founded theRockford Daily Register,that city's oldest newspaper. Subsequently, Miller brought to theHeraldhis brother-in-law and nephew, respectively, Aaron Burr Oakley and Ray M. Oakley, the first two generations of the Oakleys in the newspaper business in Quincy. Miller spent four years in Quincy, returning to Rockford in 1896 to join Harry M. Johnson in ownership of theRockford Republic.He retired as editor of theRepublicin 1913 and died in 1921. Hedley Eaton retired in 1913 and died in 1936. Eaton's son John Dewitt Eaton stayed with the paper as Advertising Manager until his retirement in 1955.

Two brothers fromDecatur,Frank M. Lindsay, Sr. and Arthur O. Lindsay, Sr. bought theQuincy Whigin 1915, with Arthur Lindsay taking up residence in Quincy as president and manager. Frank Lindsay remained in Decatur with the Decatur Herald and formed an association with another Illinois newspaper family, the Schaubs. In 1920, the Lindsays consolidated theWhigandThe Quincy Journal,founded in 1883.

QNI entered broadcasting in 1947, the year it started Quincy's first commercial FM station, WQDI. The following year QNI purchased Quincy Broadcasting Co. to operateWGEM,the city's second AM station. WQDI becameWGEM-FMin 1953.

Quincy Media Corporate headquarters in Downtown Quincy

Quincy Broadcasting produced the Quincy region's first television broadcast on September 4, 1953, with the launch ofWGEM-TV,the area'sNBCaffiliate. The building containing the ground floor studios of the WGEM stations was also the former home of the Tremont Hotel, and Quincy Media continues to operate it as the New Tremont Apartments, containing both long-term andextended stayaccommodations.

In 1969, QNI and six other newspaper entities formed American Newspapers Inc., which boughtThe New Jersey HeraldinNewton, New Jersey,converting the semi-weekly to a daily and Sunday publication in 1970. QNI acquired controlling interest in American Newspapers in 1980 and became sole owner in 1986.

Beginning in the 1970s, QNI began a major expansion into television.WSJVinElkhart, Indiana(servingSouth Bend) was acquired in 1974;[2]KROC-TV (renamedKTTC) inRochester, Minnesotain 1976;[3]WHIS-TV (renamedWVVA) inBluefield, West Virginiain 1979;[4]KTIVinSioux City, Iowain 1989;[5]andWREX-TVin Rockford in 1995.[6]All of the stations were also NBC affiliates at their acquisitions except for WSJV and WREX, which wereABCaffiliates; however, in 1995, WSJV dropped ABC forFox,[7]and soon thereafter WREX joined NBC. Also in 1995,The Merchant,a weekly shopper in Quincy was purchased by the company.

In June 2001, QNI purchased fromShockley CommunicationsfiveABCaffiliates in Wisconsin:WKOW-TVinMadison,WAOW-TVinWausau;WYOWinEagle River(asatelliteof WAOW);WXOW-TVinLa Crosse;andWQOW-TVinEau Claire(asemi-satelliteof WXOW). Also purchased from SCC at the time was ProVideo of Wisconsin, Inc. consisting of a component digital online suite and a fully integrated non-linear online suite in Madison, Wisconsin. Concurrent with the Shockley purchase, KTTC entered into ashared services agreementwithKXLT-TV,the Fox affiliate in Rochester, Minnesota. KTTC provides all services for KXLT excluding sales, traffic, and programming.

Quincy Newspapers Logo until 2012.

On July 1, 2006, QNI purchasedKWWL,the NBC affiliate inWaterloo, Iowa,fromRaycom Media.In February 2009, QNI purchasedCrandon, Wisconsin's WBIJ from the widow of the station's founder, with the intention to operate the station as a satellite station of WAOW;[8]QNI subsequently renamed the stationWMOWto conform with its other Wisconsin properties.

On February 11, 2014, Quincy announced plans to acquire a number of small and mid-market stations fromGranite Broadcasting,includingWEEK-TVinPeoria,KBJR-TVinSuperior, Wisconsin,KRII inChisholm, Minnesota(a satellite of KBJR), andWBNG-TVinBinghamton, New York(the company's firstCBSaffiliate; WEEK and KBJR/KRII are NBC affiliates). As part of the deal, Quincy originally planned to purchaseWPTA,the ABC affiliate inFort Wayne, Indiana,fromMalara Broadcast Group,and provide services to ABC affiliateWHOIandMyNetworkTVaffiliateWAOEin Peoria, NBC affiliateWISE-TVin Fort Wayne, and CBS affiliateKDLHinDuluth, Minnesota.[9]In November 2014, the deal was reworked so that Quincy would acquire WISE and provide services to WPTA, retaining the arrangement between the stations established by Granite.[10]In July 2015, the deal was reworked yet again; Quincy would, yet again, acquire WPTA instead of WISE, and Malara's stations would be acquired by SagamoreHill Broadcasting. Quincy also proposed to wind down its shared services agreements with WISE and KDLH within nine months of the sale's completion: both stations would move their existing network affiliations to WPTA and KBJR, and become independently-operated stations airing The CW.[11]On September 15, 2015, the FCC approved the deal.[12]

In 2015, the company's flagship title dropped Quincy from its masthead and became simply theHerald-Whig.In 2016, the Herald-Whig and Quincy Media applied for a demolition permit for the historicMorgan-Wells Housein Quincy for expansion of their offices. The NRHP-listed local landmark was the home of notable Quincy residents and institutions for over a century, now demolished.[13]

In January 2016, the company changed its name toQuincy Media.[14]

On May 21, 2018, it was announced that Quincy Media would acquire KDLH outright for $792,557 and WISE for $952,884. While the FCC normally prohibits one company from owning two television licenses in the same market when both are among the top four rated stations, Quincy submitted a filing saying that during the November 2017 "sweeps" period KBJR-TV was the top ranked station while KDLH placed fifth, and that WPTA was the second ranked station while WISE-TV placed fifth. The sale was completed on August 1.[15][16]

On August 29, 2018, Quincy Media's stations were pulled fromDish Networkafter failing to reach a new retransmission fee agreement.[17]On October 12, Quincy Media reached a new agreement with Dish Network to continue carrying Quincy Media stations.[18]

On October 29, 2018, Quincy announced it would be acquiringKVOAinTucson, Arizona,fromCordillera Communicationsfor $70 million as a side deal of the latter company's acquisition by theE. W. Scripps Company.[19][20][21]Two days later, on October 31, Quincy announced that it would be acquiringWSIL-TVinHarrisburg, Illinoisand KPOB, Poplar Bluff, MO, from Mel Wheeler, Inc. for $24.5 million.[22][23]

On May 10, 2019, Quincy announced it would purchase theHannibal Courier-PostfromGateHouse Media,marking its first daily newspaper expansion since 1969.[24]Six days later, on May 16, Quincy announced the sale of theNew Jersey Heraldto GateHouse Media, ending Quincy's 50-year ownership of the paper.[25]

On January 7, 2021, television industry news website FTVLive obtained an internal memo from President and CEO Ralph Oakley confirming that Quincy Media had put itself up for sale.[26]The news was later publicly confirmed by QMI.[27]

On February 1, 2021,Gray Televisionannounced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire all Quincy Media television properties for $925 million in a cash transaction, along with the WGEM AM/FM radio stations in Quincy (Gray owned one smallradio stationin Texas otherwise, also acquired as part ofanother television group). As a result, several Quincy stations will be divested to be in compliance with regulations from the FCC and the Department of Justice.[28]On April 29, it was announced thatAllen Media Groupwill purchase 10 Quincy stations not being acquired by Gray Television for $380 million.[29]The newspapers were sold to another family-owned publishing company, Phillips Media Group ofHarrison, Arkansas,in a separate transaction.[30]The transaction was completed on August 2.[31]

Former properties[edit]

Newspapers[edit]

  • Herald-Whig,Quincy, Illinois - now owned by Phillips Media Group.[30]
  • Hannibal Courier-Post,Hannibal, Missouri - now owned by Phillips Media Group.[30]

Television[edit]

  • (**) – Indicates station was built and signed on by Quincy.
City of license/Market Station Channel Owned since Affiliation
Binghamton, NY WBNG-TV 12 2015–2021 CBSaffiliate owned byGray Television
Bluefield–Beckley, WV WVVA 6 1979–2021 NBCaffiliate owned by Gray Television
Chisholm, MN KRII-TV[A] 11 2015–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television
Crandon, WI WMOW[B] 4 2009–2021 ABCaffiliate owned byAllen Media Broadcasting
Duluth, MN–Superior, WI KBJR-TV 6 2015–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television
Duluth, MN–Superior, WI KDLH 3 2018–2021 The CWaffiliate owned by Gray Television
Eagle River, WI WYOW[B] 34 2001–2021 The CW affiliate owned by Gray Television[a]
Eau Claire, WI WQOW[C] 18 2001–2021 ABC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting
Elkhart–South Bend, IN WSJV 28 1975–2021 Heroes & Iconsaffiliate owned by Gray Television
Fort Wayne, IN WPTA 21 2015–2021 ABC affiliate owned by Gray Television
Fort Wayne, IN WISE-TV 33 2018–2021 The CW affiliate owned by Gray Television
Harrisburg–Carbondale, IL WSIL-TV 3 2019–2021 ABC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting
La Crosse, WI WXOW 19 2001–2021 ABC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting
Madison, WI WKOW 27 2001–2021 ABC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting
Peoria, IL WHOI 19 [i] TBDaffiliate owned bySinclair Broadcast Group
Peoria, IL WEEK-TV 25 2015–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television
Poplar Bluff, MO KPOB-TV[D] 15 2019–2021 ABC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting
Quincy, IL WGEM-TV** 10 1953–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television
Rochester, MN KTTC 10 1976–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television
Rochester, MN KXLT-TV 47 [ii] Foxaffiliate owned bySagamoreHill Broadcasting[iii]
Rockford, IL WREX 13 1995–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting
Sioux City, IA KTIV 4 1989–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television
Tucson, AZ KVOA 4 2019–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting
Waterloo–Cedar Rapids, IA KWWL 7 2006–2021 NBC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting
Wausau, WI WAOW 9 2001–2021 ABC affiliate owned by Allen Media Broadcasting

Radio[edit]

AM Station FM Station
City of license / Market Station Current status
Quincy, Illinois WGEM1440** Defunct, went silent in 2022.
WGEM-FM105.1** Owned byGray Television

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Owned bySinclair Broadcast Groupand operated by Quincy Media from 2015 to 2016.
  2. ^Owned bySagamoreHill Broadcastingand operated by Quincy Media.
  3. ^Operated byGray Television.
  1. ^Satellite of KBJR-TV.
  2. ^abSatellite of WAOW.
  3. ^Semi-satellite of WXOW.
  4. ^Satellite of WSIL-TV.
  1. ^Currently a satellite ofWSAW-TV.

References[edit]

  1. ^Townsend, Britni (December 2001)."A" Bounty-full "Beginning: TheQuincy Herald-Whig".Archived fromthe originalon March 17, 2005.RetrievedOctober 9,2013.
  2. ^"Elkhart UHF sold for $3.2 million"(PDF).Broadcasting.September 9, 1974.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
  3. ^"Changing Hands"(PDF).Broadcasting.May 17, 1976.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
  4. ^"Changing Hands"(PDF).Broadcasting.January 22, 1979.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
  5. ^"Changing Hands"(PDF).Broadcasting.August 28, 1989.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
  6. ^"Changing Hands"(PDF).Broadcasting & Cable.June 26, 1995.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
  7. ^"Fox snags ABC South Bend affiliate".UPI.April 20, 1995.RetrievedMay 5,2021.
  8. ^"Quincy Takes WBIJ for $1.55 Million".TelevisionBroadcast.com.February 13, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon February 18, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 14,2009.
  9. ^"Quincy Buying Stations From Granite, Malara".TVNewsCheck.February 11, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 11,2014.
  10. ^"Amendment to Agreements and Description of Transaction (KBJR-TV)"(PDF).CDBS Public Access.Federal Communications Commission.November 24, 2014.RetrievedNovember 25,2014.
  11. ^"Amended Description of Agreements, Description of Transaction, and Request for Temporary Waiver".Quincy Newspapers, Inc.RetrievedAugust 1,2015.
  12. ^LetterCDBS Public Access,Federal Communications Commission,Retrieved September 15, 2015
  13. ^"Quincy City Council approves demolition of 421 Jersey - WGEM.com: Quincy News, Weather, Sports, and Radio".Archived fromthe originalon February 24, 2018.RetrievedJuly 18,2017.
  14. ^KTIV's parent company changes its name to Quincy Media Inc.,WGEM-TV,January 8, 2016, Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  15. ^"Consummation Notice".CDBS Public Access.Federal Communications Commission.RetrievedAugust 8,2018.
  16. ^"Consummation Notice".CDBS Public Access.Federal Communications Commission.RetrievedAugust 8,2018.
  17. ^"Quincy Stations Dumped By DISH In Latest Retrans Feud".Radio & Television Business Report.September 4, 2018.RetrievedOctober 16,2018.
  18. ^"DISH Resolves Its Latest Retrans Fee Feud | Radio & Television Business Report".Radio & Television Business Report.October 16, 2018.RetrievedOctober 16,2018.
  19. ^Cordillera announces sale of stations to Scripps, Quincy,Cordillera Communications,Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  20. ^Quincy Media, Inc. to acquire KVOA-TV,Quincy Media, Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  21. ^Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License,CDBS Public Access,Federal Communications Commission,Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  22. ^Quincy Media, Inc. acquires fourth station in Illinois,Quincy Media, Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  23. ^Application For Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License,CDBS Public Access,Federal Communications Commission,Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  24. ^"Quincy Media Inc. agrees to buy Hannibal Courier-Post".whig.com.Quincy, Illinois: Herald-Whig. May 10, 2019.RetrievedMay 13,2019.
  25. ^"New Jersey Herald sold to GateHouse Media",New Jersey Herald,May 16, 2019, Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  26. ^Jones, Scott (January 7, 2021)."BREAKING! Media Group Puts Themselves on The Sales Block".FTVLive.RetrievedSeptember 5,2021.
  27. ^Roberts, Jim (January 7, 2021)."Quincy Media, Inc. considers sale of company".WGEM.RetrievedSeptember 5,2021.
  28. ^Goldsmith, Jill (February 1, 2021)."Gray Television Acquires Quincy Media For $925 Million In Cash".Deadline Hollywood.RetrievedFebruary 2,2021.
  29. ^"Byron Allen's Allen Media Will Buy 7 Stations From Gray TV for $380 Million".Variety.April 29, 2021.RetrievedApril 30,2021.
  30. ^abc"Herald-Whig, Courier-Post sold to Phillips Media Group LLC",Quincy Herald-Whig,February 13, 2021, Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  31. ^"Gray Television Closes Quincy Acquisition",Gray Television,August 2, 2021, Retrieved August 2, 2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quincy_Media&oldid=1216954090"