Cox Media Group granted newspaper sale extension

Cox Media group has been granted a 60-day extension by the Federal Communications Commission, allowing the company to continue publishing its three Ohio papers including the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal-News.

The newspapers will be available throughout the week.

The extension comes while the company awaits sale. The organization expects to have a buyer within 2 months.

“This is fantastic news for our employees, our customers and the communities that our newspapers serve,” Rob Rohr, market vice president of CMG’s Dayton properties said. “This would not have been possible without the thousands of hours of hard work by Cox Media Group leadership with the full support of Apollo Global Management’s team. It’s thanks to them that the FCC enabled us to have more time to find a long-term solution for our newspapers.”

Initially, the extension had been till Jan. 16. However, on Tuesday, the FCC extended that deadline until March 16.

“We find that it is in the public interest to grant the extension request,” the FCC said in a letter. “Specifically, we find that allowing Terrier Media to operate the Dayton newspapers through March 16, 2020, will advance the Commission’s goal of localism by preserving the ability of the Dayton newspapers to maintain continuous daily readership until a buyer for the Dayton newspapers is finalized.”