(August 13, 2008)—The Waco Tribune-Herald, which has served Waco and McLennan County for more than a century and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 1994, is for sale.

Cox Enterprises, Inc., which has owned the paper since 1976, announced Wednesday it intends to sell the Waco newspaper along with the Austin American-Statesman, its affiliated operations including Austin360.com, and all of Cox's community newspapers in North Carolina, Colorado and Texas.

The company also intends to sell its direct mail advertising firm, Valpak.

The Tribune-Herald reported on its Web site that publisher Belinda Gaudet told the paper’s 236 employees about the sale Wednesday afternoon.

“Business will continue as usual with our advertisers and vendors during the sales process,” Gaudet said in a statement on the paper’s Web site.

“Our audience for our print products and online will continue to have access to the best news-gathering and local content in Waco and the surrounding area.”

The paper’s roots date back to 1897 when the Waco Daily Times-Herald was first published.

In 1899, that paper was combined with the Waco Daily Telephone to become the Waco Times-Herald and Telephone.

That paper later absorbed the Daily Chronicle.

E.S. Fentress and Charles E. Marsh, who published the Waco News-Tribune, purchased the Times-Herald in 1927 and published it as the Tribune-Herald until Cox purchased the newspaper nearly a half century later.

In 1994, the paper and reporters Mark England and Darlene McCormick, were nominated finalists for a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for a series of stories on allegations of abuse and other criminal acts by Branch Davidians led by what the paper called “The Sinful Messiah,” David Koresh.

In addition to the Tribune-Herald and the American Statesman, Cox plans to sell the Daily Reflector in Greenville, N.C. and surrounding community publications; the Rocky Mount, N.C. Telegram; The Daily Advance in Elizabeth City, N.C.; the Longview, Texas News-Journal; the Marshall, Texas News Messenger; The Lufkin, Texas Daily News; The Nacogdoches, Texas Daily Sentinel, and the Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colo.

After the sale, Cox will retain ownership of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Palm Beach Post, Dayton Daily News and the paper’s affiliated publications.

"This decision was made as part of an ongoing strategic review of our portfolio and enables us to maintain our strong and stable financial performance by further paying down debt," said Jim Kennedy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cox Enterprises.

"We will continue to own and operate industry-leading companies, invest in existing businesses and maintain a level of financial discipline that ensures we are well positioned for ongoing success."

"Newspaper businesses are an important part of Cox's history, and we greatly value the contributions the employees of these companies have made to our company," Kennedy said.

"Local newspapers play a valuable role in the communities they serve, and we are confident that the publications we are selling and those we continue to operate will continue to provide timely, valuable and trustworthy news and information to their readers."

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