Community Media Group acquires Burlington (Iowa) Hawk Eye

Dec 14, 2022

BURLINGTON, Iowa – The Burlington Hawk Eye has been acquired by family-owned Burlington Multimedia LLC, an affiliate company of Community Media Group (CMG) headquartered in West Frankfort, Illinois. The paper had been owned by Gannett Co. Inc.

Dirks, Van Essen & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented Gannett in the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Hawk Eye, the oldest daily newspaper in Iowa, traces its roots to 1837 and is credited with giving Iowa its nickname as the Hawkeye State. The newspaper serves five counties in southeastern Iowa, as well as two in northern Illinois.

CMG owns and operates community newspapers and web sites in several Midwestern states including Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, as well as papers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Larry J. Perrotto has been chairman of CMG since the company’s inception in 1996. Perotto’s involvement in the industry spans more than 40 years, first as a principal in a privately held group of 33 daily and weekly newspapers, and from 1987 to 1996 as President and Chief Executive Officer of American Publishing Company. In addition, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Sun Times Company from 1994 to 1996.

Perrotto said, “We pledge to be strong advocates for the interests of the Burlington region. We look forward to actively participating and working for the continued growth of this vibrant region.”