Wehco Media Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., said last month that it was considering a bid for The Virginian-Pilot and its sister papers, owned by Landmark Communications Inc. of Norfolk. Last week, its executives checked out the merchandise.
Eight higher-ups from Wehco, including CEO Walter E. Hussman Jr., traveled in the company jet over a three-day period to Virginia and North Carolina to talk with the top brass of The Pilot, The Roanoke Times and The News & Record in Greensboro, N.C., said Paul Smith, president of Wehco’s newspaper division.
The verdict?
“We were interested before, and we’re still interested,” said Smith, who also is president of Wehco’s flagship paper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “That doesn’t mean we will bid. … We have a lot of respect for the Landmark company and for the people that manage it. We think you publish good newspapers.”
Richard F. Barry III, vice chairman of Landmark, declined to comment Friday on prospective buyers for the papers.
Earlier this month, Landmark said it was in exclusive negotiations with a partnership led by NBC Universal for The Weather Channel, based in Atlanta, and related weather properties, and an announcement is expected soon.
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