News Corp sells Dow Jones Local Media Group to a unit of Fortress Investment Group

News Corp, run by media baron Rupert Murdoch, yesterday said that it has sold Dow Jones Local Media Group to a unit of Fortress Investment Group, for an undisclosed sum.

Dow Jones Local Media Group operates 33 publications, including 8 daily and 15 weekly newspapers, which include the Times Herald-Record, Cape Cod Times, The Record, The Standard-Times, The Pocono Record, The Herald, The Mail Tribune and The Daily Tidings

In addition to daily and weekly newspapers, the Dow Jones Local Media Group operates other print and online community media, including web sites, magazines as well as news and advertising niche publications.

''These newspapers share a strong tradition of service in their communities and a highly talented staff,'' said Robert Thomson, CEO. ''We are confident that the papers will prosper under the new owners, but they were not strategically consistent with the emerging portfolio of the new News.''

The Dow Jones Local Media Group operations will be managed by GateHouse Media, one of the largest publishers of locally-based print and online media in the United States with a portfolio of products that includes over 400 community publications and approximately 350 related websites.

Waller Capital Partners, a leading independent investment bank focused on the telecommunications, media and technology sectors, advised Dow Jones on the sale of the Local Media Group.