Carpenter Media Group announced today (Monday) that it has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of Salem Publishing Company, a 75-year-old family-owned media company with deep roots in South Central Missouri.
The acquisition includes The Salem News, Phelps County Focus, Pulaski County Weekly, their websites and social media, Action Graphics Sign Company, magazines and special publications and the company’s commercial printing operation.
The Salem News was founded in 1918. Salem Publishing launched Phelps County Focus in 2017, and in 2021, it purchased Pulaski County Weekly and the former Rolla Daily News. The RDN was closed immediately, and Pulaski County Weekly has been developed into a weekly newspaper. Salem Publishing also formerly owned The Licking News but sold it in 2016 after 12 years of ownership .
Founded in 1950, Salem Publishing has been owned locally by the Vickery and Dodd families. Robert “Bob” Vickery, his wife Margaret and Charles Stacey served as publishers from 1950 to 1983. W. Ray Vickery, Bob and Margaret’s son and current publisher Donald Dodd’s stepfather, was publisher from 1983 to 1998. Bob and Ray are both members of the Missouri Press Association Hall of Fame.
Dodd has been publisher for the past 27 years. During this time, he has been active in the community, serving as chairman of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s Transportation Advisory Committee, president of the Dent County Industrial Development Authority and chairman of the Southwest Baptist University-Salem Center Advisory Committee. He is currently a member of the Dent County IDA, Phelps County Community Foundation board of directors, Missouri S&T Campus Performing Arts Committee and East Central College Advisory Committee. He has also served on numerous other committees and boards.
“Serving these communities has been rewarding in so many ways,” Dodd says. “I have been a journalist since 1980, and I value the importance of newspapers, whether they are delivered in print or digitally.
“This transition is an emotional time for us and the employees of Salem Publishing, who are the reason our company has been successful. We are excited to have someone like Carpenter Media Group come in to fill the role, someone who values what community newspapers do.”
Most recently, they have been led by Dodd, his wife Felicia, who serves as the publisher's assistant, and his daughter Catherine Wynn, the managing editor for all three papers. Dodd’s mother June Vickery served as associate publisher under Ray Vickery.
While the Dodds plan to retire, Catherine will remain and manage the Salem Publishing Company properties purchased by Carpenter Media Group.
Salem Publishing started with only The Salem News, a free shopper and local commercial printing, but has expanded under Dodd’s leadership to include the three papers, regional commercial printing and sign company.
The print circulation is 14,300. With an industry average of 2.8 readers per issue, that is 40,040 readers per week in Phelps, Dent, Pulaski and adjoining counties. The websites have averaged over three million pageviews per year for the past few years and have over 32,000 followers on social media.
Dodd says the impending sale, scheduled to close on Jan. 31, will continue the same mission under new leadership. This will ensure that the publications that have long been an important part of the communities remain vital to the communities they serve.
Carpenter Media Group, led by Chairman Todd Carpenter, has expressed a deep respect for the legacy of the Dodd and Vickery families and a commitment to continuing the tradition of high-quality, community-focused journalism.
“We are pleased to succeed Donald and family and to join their team in this important work. The foundations they put down position us for future success,” said Carpenter.
“We understand the important responsibilities and obligations to each community we accept here and will work hard to meet each one.”
Prior to chairing CMG, Carpenter was a longtime CEO and director of Boone Newsmedia, Inc. (BNI), which, including CMG’s holdings along with its own, managed 85 newspaper titles, various magazines, websites and other businesses in 12 states. After separating CMG holdings last year from BNI and recent acquisitions, CMG now owns and manages newspapers, magazines and hyperlocal news websites serving more than 240 communities in the U.S. and Canada.
In December, CMG purchased Phillips Media Group and Nowata Printing in Springfield, giving it a large footprint in Missouri. PMG owned 16 community newspapers, including The Big Nickel, Bolivar Herald-Free Press, Buffalo Reflex, Cedar County Republican, Christian County Headliner News, Kirksville Daily Express, The Marshfield Mail, NEMO Trader, Sedalia Democrat, Warrensburg Star-Journal, The West Plains Daily Quill and the Hannibal Courier Post.
For more information on Carpenter Media Group, go to www.carpentermediagroup.com
