The local-media landscape has experienced more evolution with the recent acquisition of GazetteLeader operations by Arlington-based Local News Now.
The firm last week formally acquired GazetteLeader assets, including archives, from O’Rourke Media Group, which now operates 50 local publications in eight states and 36 markets in the U.S. and started the GazetteLeader in early 2023 as its first foray into the local region.
“We’ve never sold a business since starting O’Rourke Media Group in December 2018, but given the extremely competitive Northern Virginia market and overall circumstances, selling to Local News Now is a strategic move that makes sense for both sides,” said Jim O’Rourke, CEO-owner of the firm.
“I’m very thankful and appreciative of all the hard work and dedication put forth by editor Scott McCaffrey, general manager Vicky Mashaw and our entire Virginia team,” he said.
As part of the arrangement, the print edition of the GazetteLeader, covering Arlington and portions of Fairfax County, will be discontinued, but editor McCaffrey and sports editor Dave Facinoli are joining Local News Now and will provide content to its ARLnow and FFXnow online operations.
“It’s a tough time to be in the local news business,” said Scott Brodbeck, founder and CEO of Local News Now. “Luckily, here in Arlington and Northern Virginia, we have strong support from advertisers and readers. And we have the other key ingredient to making local news work: talented journalists committed to dogged coverage and deep knowledge of the communities they serve.”
The addition of McCaffrey and Facinoli will increase Local News Now’s overall newsroom headcount to nine, working across three online-only publications: ARLnow, FFXnow and Alexandria local news site ALXnow. (See coverage from ARLnow HERE.)
The additional staffing will allow:
• Deeper local government and community coverage on ARLnow and FFXnow.
• More comprehensive coverage of the city of Falls Church on ARLnow, expanding on recently launched local business and public safety reporting there.
• Local sports coverage, much of which will be exclusive to the ARLnow Press Club, the site’s reader membership service.
The expansion of Local News Now comes as many community-news operations – locally and nationally – have faced a challenging economic environment as readers and advertisers have gravitated from print to online.
Northern Virginia is far from immune. The region once had a number of daily papers and a large number of weeklies focused on local news, but their ranks have dwindled over the past two decades.
