The Chattanooga Times Free Press has been purchased by father-and-son duo Max and Craig Fuller, longtime Chattanooga trucking company magnates.
The ownership change was announced to Times Free Press staff the morning of July 30 and will be effective July 31. WEHCO Media had owned the news organization for 27 years. The Fullers will be the fourth family owners in the paper's nearly 157-year history.
Craig Fuller, a Chattanooga native who also owns Firecrown Media, told the staff the newsroom will remain independent and will transition its office to a renovated space in the headquarters of one of his other companies, FreightWaves.
The building that houses the newspaper is not a part of the purchase deal, and staff reductions are expected, according
to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
"We run fast. It's one of the reasons we're successful," Fuller said, according to the Time Free Press. "That speed is probably going to feel very uncomfortable, maybe a little chaotic, maybe very chaotic. But when we have gotten through that process, we will have a healthy, vibrant editorial product."
The purchase comes shortly after Chattanooga Times Free Press publisher Eliza Hussman Gaines, a member of the family that owns WEHCO Media, said the company was selling papers, not purchasing them.
During her April speech to the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, Hussman Gaines spoke about the future of local news and said moving forward as a nonprofit was under consideration.
WEHCO Media is based in Little Rock, Arkansas, and recently sold two of its papers: one in Jefferson City, Missouri, and another in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Who is Craig Fuller?
Craig Fuller is the founder and CEO of three different companies: Firecrown media, FreightWaves and Sonar, according to hisLinkedIn profile.
One of Fuller's three companies, Firecrown, is a media company that covers aviation, trains, marine brands and supply chain. The media network creates various types of content across different platforms, according to his website.
FreightWaves and Sonar are trucking companies.
Chattanooga Times Free Press previous owners
The Chattanooga Times Free Press was previously owned by WEHCO Media, short for Walter E. Hussman Company. Hussman's father-in-law Clyde Palmer bought the Texarkana Courier in 1909 for $900, which kickstarted WEHCO's history of newspaper ownership.
The Chattanooga Free Press was purchased by WEHCO in 1998, a year later the media company bought The Chattanooga Times, and the two papers were merged.
The current paper dates back to 1896, when the Chattanooga Daily Times was created.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Chattanooga Times Free Press sold by WEHCO Media to Max and Craig Fuller
