In an article that appeared last night in the Jacksonville Business Journal online edition, Christian Conte reported that Journal Community Publishing Group of Milwaukee has sold the last of its Florida publications — the weekly Ponte Vedra Recorder and Clay Today, as well as the First Coast Register, Car Connection and the St. Augustine Underground.
Journal Community Publishing Group is a subsidiary of publicly traded Journal Communications Inc. (NYSE: JRN), whose flagship paper is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The publishing company sold two Sarasota publications in June. In July, publisher Vincent Grassia announced that there were offers for some of the community papers.
Editor Mark E. Pettus, was quoted by Conte confirming the sale of the publications to Osteen Publishing Co. of Sumter, S.C.; expected to be completed tomorrow.
According to their website, Hubert Osteen is Chairman of Osteen Publishing Company, Graham Osteen is Co-President along with Kyle Osteen.
This is not the first change of hands for The Ponte Vedra Recorder; which has not been locally owned for years.
Osteen reportedly decided to discontinue the much ballyhooed, but lackluster performing, “The St. Augustine Underground” after publishing only a few issues since its announced inaugural issue that was due out on “Black Friday” November 26th, 2010.
Both Publisher Grassia and Editor Pettus have been let go.
Pettus, who had not posted on twitter since July 22nd, posted last night, simply “Thanks and good luck.”
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