News Corp. has sold its collection of 33 local daily/weekly newspapers to Fortress Investment Group for an undisclosed price.
Formerly known as the Ottaway Group, the mostly eastern U.S. papers include Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, Penn.), Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, Mass.), The Herald (Portsmouth, N.H.), Times Herald-Record (Middletown, N.Y.) and Standard Times (New Bedford, Mass.) and The Record (Calif.).
The sale includes websites, magazines and advertising niche publications.
Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corp., said the papers "share a strong tradition of service in their communities and a highly talented staff."
The group, however, "is not strategically consistent with the emerging portfolio of the new News," he added.
That News Corp. focus is on the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Times of London, Sun, Australian papers, book publishing and the education market.
The GateHouse Media unit of Fortress will manage the Dow Jones Local Media Group.
It oversees a media portfolio of more than 400 community publications
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