Owner Of Journal Times To Buy Kenosha, Lake Geneva Papers: Report

KENOSHA, WI -- Corporate media consolidation in Wisconsin took another big step forward Monday.

Lee Enterprises, the Davenport, Iowa-based media corporation that owns and operates the Racine Journal Times, has agreed to buy both the Kenosha News and Lake Geneva Regional News, the paper announced Monday morning.

According to a Racine County Eye report, the news was announced to staff at both newspapers Monday morning. According to the report, a source at one of the papers told the Racine County Eye that current employees, including unionized members in the Kenosha News newsroom, have to re-apply for their jobs.

“These two markets fit very nicely into our already strong footprint in Wisconsin,” said Lee President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mowbray in a Kenosha News report. “Their proximity to existing Lee properties creates opportunity for synergies while greatly strengthening our audiences in southeast Wisconsin.”

What those synergies mean has not been made public yet.

According to the Journal Times, Racine publisher Mark Lewis will become the president and publisher of the new media group.

The Kenosha News publishes seven days a week and has an average daily print circulation of about 20,000. The Lake Geneva Regional News publishes weekly. The sale is expected to close on January 31, 2019.

The Kenosha News, then the Kenosha Evening News, was purchased in 1961 by United Communications Corporation founders Howard and Elizabeth Brown.

“The Brown Family is very grateful for the hard work and dedication of all Kenosha News and Lake Geneva Regional News employees, both past and present,” United Communications Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Lucy Brown said in a statement. "Making the decision to sell is extraordinarily difficult, but we welcome Lee Enterprises and know the future looks bright under their leadership.”

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