Gazette acquires The Recorder and two other locals

The Daily Gazette has bought The Recorder, Courier-Standard-Enterprise and Fulton County Express newspapers, the publication announced Monday.

The three acquired publications will remain in circulation and will be based in Amsterdam like before.

The deal was completed Monday following years of informal discussions and a shorter period of actual negotiation by Recorder Publisher Kevin McClary and John DeAugustine, Gazette publisher.

“Our mission is to support the local communities we serve with outstanding journalism,” said John  DeAugustine, Gazette publisher. “Because we believe that is critical to the success of any community. So for us, it’s just a natural expansion to acquire the Recorder when Kevin was ready to sell it.”

DeAugustine further added that he aims to retain the Recorder’s Amsterdam presence. “Hopefully right on Main Street,” he said. “That’s our goal. I’ve got a couple of buildings I already wish we were in.”

When talking about the staff, he said that it will be impossible to quantify the workforce transition until he sees how successful he is at recruiting the employees he wants, how successful McClary is at retaining the employees he wants, and how many Recorder employees aren’t needed by either McClary Media or The Gazette.

Conclusively, he added that the publication was able to make this commitment to the city and make this investment in the three newspapers because it has diversified its revenue stream beyond print and digital journalism.