Suburban World Newspapers

Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = Suburban World Newspapers
company_logo =
slogan =
fate = Bought and dissolved
successor = Community Newspaper Company
foundation = 1978
defunct = February 2001
location = Needham, Massachusetts USA
industry = Newspapers
key_people = William Barrett, founder and owner
products = Seven weekly newspapers in eastern Massachusetts
num_employees = 2001: 43
parent =
subsid =

Suburban World Newspapers, based in Needham, Massachusetts, USA, was a privately owned publisher of seven weekly newspapers in the suburbs west of Boston in the 1980s and 1990s.

The "Boston Herald" bought the company in 2001 and dissolved it into Community Newspaper Company, the largest weeklies publisher in Massachusetts. After the sale, Suburban World's two youngest newspapers were closed, while the others remain part of CNC, now owned by GateHouse Media.

History

Newspaper publisher William Barrett founded Suburban World in 1978 after purchasing four newspapers in towns west of Boston.Suburban World's success caused Barrett to expand twice, adding papers in Westwood in 1987 and in Millis and Norfolk in 1995.Gatlin, Greg. "Herald Media Buys 7 Suburban Weeklies". "Boston Herald", February 16, 2001.]

By contrast, the papers he bought in 1978 all had deep community roots: the Natick newspaper had been founded in 1865; two more dated from the early 20th century, and the youngest had been founded in 1956." [http://www.crwa.org/streamers/spring99/rotcsupportpg4.htm Bruins Stars and Newspaper Chain Support 17th Run of the Charles] ". "Streamer" (Newsletter of the Charles River Watershed Association, Weston, Mass.), page 4, Spring 1999. Accessed August 16, 2007.]

The newspapers developed a reputation for quality. Kirk Davis, who oversaw Suburban World's competitors in his role as publisher of Community Newspaper Company, said Suburban World did "an outstanding job, in some instances a better job than we were doing".

In 2001, Barrett, 56, decided to sell his newspapers for an undisclosed amount of money to his longtime competitor, which had long expressed an interest in buying Suburban World. The deal came shortly after CNC had been sold to the "Boston Herald".

The move filled some gaps in CNC's coverage map, but also set up conflicts with previous CNC papers, notably the former MetroWest "Tab" newspapers. Eventually, the competing "Tabs" were closed and the Suburban World papers -- most of which had decades-long histories in their communities, whereas the "Tabs" dated from the 1990s -- remain in CNC today.

Two Suburban World papers were closed, however, prompting some reader backlash in Millis and Norfolk. Subscribers of the papers complained about a loss of local focus when CNC decided, soon after the sale, to fold them into the "Country Gazette", a regional paper based in nearby Franklin. [" [http://www.prsaboston.org/pdfs/may2001.pdf Herald/CNC Given a PR Lesson at April PRSA Program] ". "News & Views" (Newsletter of PRSA Boston), page 2, May 2001. Accessed August 16, 2007.]

Properties

At the time of its sale to CNC in February 2001, Suburban World Newspapers consisted of the following titles, with a total weekly circulation of 26,000:

* "Dover-Sherborn Press" of Dover and Sherborn (founded 1956)
* "Medfield Press" of Medfield (founded 1922)
* "Millis Press" of Millis (founded 1995; closed 2001)
* "Natick Bulletin" of Natick (founded 1865)
* "Needham Times" of Needham (founded 1932)
* "Norfolk Press" of Norfolk (founded 1995; closed 2001)
* "Westwood Press" of Westwood (founded 1987)

The Dover-Sherborn, Natick and Needham papers are still published as part of GateHouse Media in CNC's Metro Unit; the Medfield and Westwood papers are in the West Unit.

References