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HD Media
TypeLimited Liability Company, Private
IndustryNewspapers, Magazines
Founded2013; 13 years ago (2013)
HeadquartersHuntington, West Virginia
Key people
Doug Reynolds, Managing Director
Phil Perry, president[1]
SubsidiariesThe Herald-Dispatch, Charleston Gazette-Mail
Websitehdmediallc.com

HD Media Co., LLC is a Huntington, West Virginia, based publisher of daily and weekly newspapers and magazines. It was established by Doug Reynolds in 2013 to purchase the Herald-Dispatch from Champion Industries.

Newspapers

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The Herald-Dispatch

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In 2013, HD Media purchased The Herald-Dispatch from Champion Industries.[2]

The Herald-Dispatch was founded in 1909 when two Huntington newspapers, the Herald and the Dispatch, merged.[3] In 1927, the newspaper became a part of the Huntington Publishing Company, operated by Joseph Harvey Long, the owner of the Huntington Advertiser. The company was operated by the Long family until 1971, when it was sold to the Honolulu Star Bulletin and then to the Gannett Company ten months later.[3] Its companion afternoon paper, the Huntington Advertiser, ceased as a separate publication in 1979. Prior to the Huntington Advertiser’s demise, the combined Sunday newspaper was referred to as the Herald-Advertiser, correctly depicted in the movie We Are Marshall. Today, it also publishes the Putnam Herald and the Lawrence Herald, more localized editions of The Herald-Dispatch serving Putnam County, West Virginia and Lawrence County, Ohio, respectively.

Charleston Gazette-Mail

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On March 8, 2018, HD Media, the Herald-Dispatch's holding company, was declared the successful bid in the auction for the Charleston Gazette-Mail after the paper had declared bankruptcy.[3]

The Charleston Gazette-Mail is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between the Charleston Gazette and the Charleston Daily Mail.

The Gazette traces its roots to 1873. At the time, it was a weekly newspaper known as the Kanawha Chronicle. It was later renamed The Kanawha Gazette and the Daily Gazette—before its name was officially changed to The Charleston Gazette in 1907. In 1912 it came under the control of the Chilton family, who have owned it until its bankruptcy in 2018. William E. Chilton, a U.S. senator, was publisher of The Gazette, as were his son, William E. Chilton II, and grandson, W.E. "Ned" Chilton III, Yale graduate and classmate/protégé of conservative columnist William F. Buckley, Jr. Ironically, the paper's opinion page, usually on the left, carried Buckley's column until Buckley's death.

Ned Chilton used to claim that the job of a newspaper was to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." The newspaper's liberal reputation was enhanced by principal editorial writer and columnist L.T. Anderson, associate editor and two-time runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. Anderson later moved to the rival Daily Mail as a columnist after he was passed over for an editorial position at the Gazette, and often used his Daily Mail column to snipe at his former employer.

The Daily Mail was founded in 1914 by former Alaska Governor Walter Eli Clark and remained the property of his heirs until 1987. Governor Clark described the newspaper as an "independent Republican" publication. In 1987, the Clark heirs sold the paper to the Toronto-based Thomson Newspapers. The new owners moderated the political views of the paper to some degree. In 1998, Thomson sold the Daily Mail to the Denver-based MediaNews Group. The newspaper published in the afternoons, Monday-Saturday, with a Sunday morning edition, until 1961; Monday – Saturday afternoons from 1961 to 2005, Monday – Friday afternoons from 2005 to 2009, and Monday – Friday mornings from 2009 to 2015.

Other papers

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In 2014, The Herald-Dispatch parent company HD Media acquired the Wayne County News and The Tri State Weekly (serving West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio) in Wayne, West Virginia.[4] In 2017, HD Media acquired the Logan Banner, Williamson Daily News, the Coal Valley News in Madison and The Pineville Independent Herald in Pineville from Civitas Media.[5]

On February 2021 HD Media had next acquired Lincoln Journal[a] and Lincoln News Sentinel through a purchase that was finalized in January.[6]

On October 2022 HD Media acquired The Webster Echo, another West Virginia weekly, by purchase from the Cochrane family. Also at the time, it had purchased The Virginia Mountaineer, a weekly in Grundy, Virginia.[7][8] On April 7, 2023 HD Media had also purchased The Lebanon News, a southwest Virginian weekly.[9] Both The Lebanon News and The Virginia Mountaineer were sold to Virginia Media on May 27, 2026.[10][11]

The most recent purchase was on July 5, 2024 in which HD Media acquired the Portsmouth Daily Times from AIM Media Midwest.[12]

Antitrust lawsuit against Google and Facebook

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In February 2021, HD Media filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google and Facebook in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on the basis of digital advertising manipulation. According to News Media Alliance, this is the first lawsuit of its kind being filed by a news outlet. Managing director Doug Reynolds has stated in an interview that "“These companies are more powerful than Standard Oil in its heyday, so no one wants to be the first to take them on. We felt the political and legal climate have moved in our favor and are ready to go ahead.” Paul Farrell, the lead lawyer for the suit has pointed out the digital advertising revenue of the company has declined despite a growing digital audience. Mr. Reynolds has reportedly spoken with other publishers and expects some will join the suit in the future.[13][14][15]

Assets currently and formerly owned

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Its not exactly the "Lincoln Journal Star" but the "Lincoln Evening News" which was purchased and later renamed to "Lincoln Journal".

References

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  1. ↑ "Perry named president of HD Media, publisher of Gazette-Mail, Herald-Dispatch, weeklies". Charleston Gazette-Mail. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Champion to sell Herald-Dispatch for $10 Million http://www.statejournal.com/story/22682907/champion-to-sell-herald-dispatch-for-10-million Archived 2016-07-31 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "HD Media is successful bidder for Gazette-Mail". Lacie Pierson. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  4. ↑ "Herald-Dispatch, WV Acquires Wayne County Publications – Editor & Publisher". Archived from the original on 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  5. ↑ "Quarterly Updates – 2nd Quarter 2017". Dirks, Van Essen & Murray. 2017-06-30. Archived from the original on 2017-10-29. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  6. ↑ Diehl, Erika (2021-02-16). "Lincoln Journal, News Sentinel acquired by HD Media". West Virginia Press Association. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
  7. ↑ Media, Press Release | HD (2022-10-03). "HD Media purchases Virginia weekly". Editor and Publisher. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
  8. ↑ Dirks; Van Essen; April. "Dirks, Van Essen & April | Trusted Media Advisory". dirksvanessen.com. Retrieved 2026-06-08. West Virginia deal HD Media purchased the Webster Echo, a weekly newspaper in Webster Springs, West Virginia, from the Cochran family. The purchase allows HD Media to continue growing its reach from its core in the southern half of West Virginia. The company also recently purchased the Virginia Mountaineer, a weekly in Grundy, Virginia.
  9. ↑ ccooper@hdmediallc.com, CHAD COOPER (2023-04-20). "HD Media purchases Lebanon News". The Virginia Mountaineer. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
  10. ↑ DeanaM (2026-06-03). "Virginia Media Inc. acquires The Virginia Mountaineer, The Lebanon News - Virginia Press Association". Virginia Press Association -. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
  11. ↑ Media, H. D. (2026-05-27). "The Lebanon News sold to Virginia Media". The Lebanon News. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
  12. ↑ portsmouthdailytimes (2024-07-08). "HD Media purchases Daily Times". Portsmouth Daily Times. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
  13. ↑ Hagey, Lukas I. Alpert and Keach (2021-02-04). "A Small West Virginia Newspaper Takes On Google and Facebook". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  14. ↑ Ngo, Keach Hagey and Vivien (2019-11-07). "How Google Edged Out Rivals and Built the World's Dominant Ad Machine: A Visual Guide". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  15. ↑ "HD Media Files First of Its Kind Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google and Facebook". Editor and Publisher. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
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