Journal, other Gold Country Media papers under new ownership

Gold Mountain California News Media Inc. has acquired 11 California titles from Brehm Communications Inc. (BCI). Six titles comprise the Gold Country Media cluster, including the twice-weekly Auburn Journal and weeklies the Loomis News, Placer Herald, Roseville Press-Tribune, Lincoln News Messenger and Folsom Telegraph. The other five publications are in the San Bernardino Mountains and neighboring high-desert region. The group in the southern part of the state includes six weekly newspapers: The Big Bear Grizzly and Mountain News cover the resort and second home communities adjacent to Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. The other titles in the group – the Hi-Desert Star, The Desert Trail and The Desert Mobile Home News – serve residents of the Coachella Valley in the high desert just north of Palm Springs. Dirks, Van Essen & April, through its subsidiary CAL DVM, represented BCI in the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The new owners have newspaper assets throughout the United States and Canada, including the Marysville Appeal-Democrat, the Lodi News-Sentinel and the recently acquired Grass Valley Union. "We are pleased to acquire these esteemed properties from the Brehm Communications family," said Steven Malkowich of Gold Mountain. "Our plans are to continue with the well-established fine tradition which the family has been recognized for in their long and continuous history in the newspaper industry." "This transaction is bittersweet, as our family has been in the newspaper business for over 102 years. However, we felt it was time to pass these amazing publications and employees to a new home," said Ryan Schuyler, president and CEO of BCI. "We believe the new owners will carry on the important mission of community journalism for years to come."