Stonebridge Press
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Stonebridge Press Inc. is a privately held newspaper company based in Southbridge, Massachusetts. It was formed October 27, 1995 by John E. Coots and David S. Cutler to operate the newspapers they had acquired through their purchase of Worcester County Newspapers.[1]
In addition to its Massachusetts operations, the company handles printing work for Salmon Press newspapers of New Hampshire and publishes four weekly newspapers in Connecticut under the name Villager Newspapers.
Throughout its distribution area, Stonebridge's primary competitor is the daily Worcester Telegram & Gazette. It also competes in Winchendon with The Gardner News, in Connecticut with the Norwich Bulletin, and in the Blackstone Valley with the Milford Daily News.
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[edit] Southbridge Evening News
The Southbridge Evening News is the flagship publication of Stonebridge Press, which is headquartered at the News building, 25 Elm Street, Southbridge. In addition to the daily newspaper and "back-office" functions, the Southbridge office houses the company's sports department, "Town-to-Town Classifieds" section, two of Stonebridge's weekly newspapers, and, at a remote location (the former American Optical plant), the printing presses.
[edit] Weekly newspapers
Stonebridge Press publishes four paid-subscription weeklies, all with circulations below 3,000; five total-market news weeklies, delivered to every home in the towns they cover; and two total-market shopper weeklies. Most of the newspapers are based in Southbridge, Massachusetts, Putnam, Connecticut, or the towns they cover.
| Newspaper | Type | Office | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn News | Paid | Southbridge | Auburn |
| Blackstone Valley Tribune | Paid | Whitinsville | Douglas, Northbridge Uxbridge |
| Killingly Villager | Free | Putnam | Brooklyn, Killingly |
| Putnam Villager | Free | Putnam | Putnam |
| South County Weekender | Shopper | Putnam | Douglas, Dudley, Oxford, Webster |
| Spencer New Leader | Paid | Spencer | Brookfield, East Brookfield, Leicester, North Brookfield, Spencer, West Brookfield |
| Thompson Villager | Free | Putnam | Thompson |
| The Webster Times | Free | Southbridge | Dudley, Oxford, Webster |
| Wick-Qua-Boag Weekender | Shopper | Spencer | Brookfield, East Brookfield, Leicester, North Brookfield, Spencer, West Brookfield |
| Winchendon Courier | Paid | Winchendon | Winchendon |
| Woodstock Villager | Free | Putnam | Eastford, Pomfret, Woodstock |
[edit] Worcester County Newspapers
Prior to Coots and Cutler's purchase of the company in 1998, the Evening News and Massachusetts weeklies were owned by Worcester County Newspapers, based in Auburn. In addition, the company published the Blackstone Valley Weekender shopper, Jaffrey-Rindge (New Hampshire) Chronicle weekly, and, prior to cuts in 1995, several other weeklies and shoppers:
- The Voice, a weekly covering Boylston, Northborough, Shrewsbury and Westborough, Massachusetts.
- Wachusett People, a shopper in Holden and West Boylston, Massachusetts.
- The Observer Patriot, a weekly in Putnam.
Additionally, from 1987 to 1992, the company owned Worcester Magazine, an alternative newsweekly in Massachusetts' second-largest city.
Prior to 1995, Worcester County Newspapers owned a printing plant in Auburn.[2] The plant was sold to Community Newspaper Company as part of the Stonebridge deal, and Stonebridge papers were initially printed at Turley Publications' plant.[3]
