The Ogden Newspapers will purchase The Dominion Post from the Raese family of Morgantown and its West Virginia Newspaper Publishing Co., the two companies announced Wednesday.

The ownership change is expected to be completed by Sept. 30.

In a statement, Ogden chief executive Robert Nutting said his family has long valued the work done by The Dominion Post and its staff to serve Morgantown and the surrounding region. He commended the Raese family for its century-long stewardship of the newspaper and said his family looks forward to continuing their legacy of community-focused journalism in the greater Morgantown region and throughout North Central West Virginia.

“We are extremely proud to be given the opportunity to carry on the work done by the Greer and Raese families for the past 101 years at The Dominion Post,” Nutting said. “The newspaper has served the residents of Morgantown well since its founding, and we plan to honor and build on their legacy of strong community journalism well into the future by continuing to publish — both in print and on digital media platforms — community-focused content that covers the issues most important to readers.”

The Dominion Post is the main newspaper in Morgantown, Monongalia County. Its history dates to 1864 with the founding of the Morgantown Weekly Post. In 1876, another predecessor, the New Dominion, was founded.

The modern version of the newspaper developed from the merger of the Morgantown New Dominion and Morgantown News into the Morgantown Dominion-News. That then merged with the Morgantown Post, finally forming the Dominion Post.

The newspaper came under the family ownership that has steered it for years in 1923, when Col. H.C. Greer became the owner and publisher of the Morgantown Post. He constructed a new building on Elk Street, just off of Spruce Street, for a new printing plant and editorial office for the Post.

When Greer, a prominent Morgantown businessman, died August 5, 1948, his wife, Agnes Jane Reeves Greer, continued to operate their businesses, including the newspapers, radio, steel and limestone until her death on October 21, 1972.

Since then, the Dominion Post has remained a family-owned business operated by brothers John and David Raese, who are grandsons of the Greers. David’s son, Adam Raese, has served as publisher of the Dominion Post since 2023.

“This transaction will give us the opportunity to focus on our other media activities which have substantially grown over the last decade. We look forward to the continued growth, diversification, and growth of our WVRC Media Group, West Virginia’s largest media group,” said David Raese, joint owner of the Dominion Post.

Ogden Newspapers Inc. is a West Virginia-based publisher of dozens of daily and weekly newspapers. The company has operations in California, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

The company headquarters is in Wheeling, Ohio County. Nutting said The Dominion Post will be an exciting addition to his family’s West Virginia and regional publications.

In West Virginia, the company runs The Inter-Mountain of Elkins,  The Journal of Martinsburg, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, The Weirton Daily Times, The Wheeling Intelligencer
The Shepherdstown Chronicle, The Wetzel Chronicle of New Martinsville and The Tyler Star News of Sistersville.

The Ogden Newspapers also publishes the Herald Standard in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and the Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pennsylvania.

The company’s origins date to September 22, 1890 with H. C. Ogden’s launch of the Wheeling News. Robert Nutting is now the chief executive, Bill Nutting is the vice president and Cameron Nutting Williams is the chief revenue officer.

“The Dominion Post is becoming part of the largest news-gathering team in West Virginia,” Nutting said. “This will provide opportunities to readers in all our markets – both in print and online – to experience more comprehensive news coverage and in-depth reporting on regional issues including important news and sports stories at West Virginia University.”

Wednesday, September 11, 2024