View Newspaper Group Owner and President Rick Burrough is proud to announce the locally-owned newspaper company has acquired the business operations of Sherman Publications, Inc., which includes the publications Lake Orion Review, Oxford Leader, Ortonville Citizen, Clarkston News, Ad-Vertiser, Penny Stretcher and Big Deal.
“The Sherman family’s local news legacy, which dates back to 1955, is one we’ve always admired at View Newspaper Group,” said Burrough. “We’ve known and worked with the Shermans for many years. When it came time for them to sell their papers, they sought us out knowing of our success in the community newspaper business and our reputation for treating stakeholders — readers, advertisers, vendors and employees — with fairness and respect.”
Founded in 2003 by Burrough, View Newspaper Group, which publishes The County Press, Lapeer Area View, Genesee County View and Tri-County Times, is a locally-owned community newspaper group that now includes 21 community newspapers covering Lapeer, Oakland, Genesee, Livingston, Sanilac, Huron, Saginaw, Shiawassee, Montcalm and Ionia counties.
“My sisters and I are all very excited that our group of newspapers has been acquired by the best media group in the Midwest,” said Sherman Publications, Inc. Owner and President Jim Sherman. “Like our group, View Newspaper Group is family-owned and operated and has been a partner and associate of our papers for many years. They also understand the importance of keeping these long-standing titles in print. The Orion Review dates back 140 years and the Oxford Leader dates back 124 years. The View team is the perfect fit to continue the important role of providing communities in northern Oakland county with the interesting, entertaining and informative news and features that exist in these fast-growing destination communities.”
“The addition of the Sherman family’s newspapers fits well with our existing publications, especially The County Press, Lapeer Area View, Genesee County View and Tri-County Times, which all share borders with our newly-acquired papers,” said View Newspaper Group Publisher Wes Smith. “Helping local businesses grow and thrive has always been an important part of our mission for both our papers and the Sherman papers. Having these papers join our family will offer our advertisers the opportunity to reach readers in nearby communities,” Smith said. “This acquisition also brings together two talented teams of dedicated newspaper professionals to form the largest, most experienced media team in our region. In addition, our brand team, which among other tasks creates signature events that allow our readers to connect with each other and us, will work with the Sherman team to create events in northern Oakland communities to benefit area nonprofits and provide fun for residents.”
Smith said View Newspaper Group plans to retain the 20 employees on staff with Sherman Publications and will continue operations from the current offices in Oxford and Ortonville.
“As a print-first publishing company, we will continue weekly home delivery of print editions to Sherman’s readers in 58,000 households in northern Oakland County,” he said.
View Newspaper Group acquired all intellectual property related to the Sherman Publications and will continue to operate the websites for the Review, Leader, News and Citizen.
Since its start in 2003 View Newspaper Group has grown nearly every year. This latest acquisition say Burrough and Smith is proof that local, community newspapers remain vital to the communities they serve.
“If the last two years of uncertainty have proved anything, it’s the importance of knowing what is happening in your own backyard,” said Smith. “Our readership has grown and remains strong, because local, community newspapers are so important. We look forward to carrying on the important work of delivering local news to northern Oakland County communities.”
All View Newspaper Group publications are printed by its sister companies Michigan Web Press in Davisburg and Stafford Printing in Greenville. Founded in 1979, commercial web printing company Michigan Web Press was acquired by Rick Burrough in 1999. Burrough expanded the company several times, most recently with the acquisition of Stafford Printing in Greenville in 2019. The company is now the largest commercial newspaper printer in Michigan, serving more than 250 clients. Their four press lines, made up of 68 printing units and 6 folders, produce more than 2 million copies weekly.
“One of the keys to our continued growth and success has been establishing or maintaining the unique identity and relationship to its community for each newspaper in our group. We don’t use the cookie-cutter approach,” said Smith. “The Sherman family and their team have built excellent newspapers that have served their readers and advertisers really well. We share the same values and commitment, which is why this is such a good fit for both View Newspaper Group and the Sherman family.”