Maine-Lewiston-Sun Journal Acquires Two Maine Newspapers

Two stalwarts of Oxford County news, the Advertiser-Democrat of Norway, the oldest weekly newspaper in Maine, and the Rumford Falls Times have joined the Sun Journal group of publications following the sale of the two weeklies to the Lewiston-based daily by Howard James. Combined, the two weeklies have a circulation of 10,500 reflecting a 3.8% increase since 2002. The acquisition includes some smaller, promotions-based businesses; a Web design and hosting business; and a commercial printing operation with a Goss offset press. Howard James bought the two weeklies separately in 1976, eight years after winning a Pulitizer Prize as a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor. His series on corruption and incompetence in the country’s judicial system was later published in book form entitled “Crisis in the Courts.”