Grand opening for new Seacoast Media Group facility

Seacoast Media Group held a grand opening for its new facility in Portsmouth, N.H., May 2. Business writer Shir Haberman wrote the following story about the ceremonies:

PORTSMOUTH — Bob Brown pressed a button on the control panel, and the huge Goss Magnum 8 Press at Seacoast Media Group's 111 New Hampshire Ave. headquarters jumped into action. Brown is president of Goss International, based in Dover.

The moment drew applause from the approximately 100 people who attended the formal ribbon-cutting for the company's new headquarters Wednesday morning. SMG publishes the Portsmouth Herald, Spotlight magazine, The Hampton Union, The Exeter News-Letter, Rockingham News, York Weekly and York County Coast Star. Immediately, the huge new press, built in Shanghai, China, came to life and began spewing out copy after copy of a full-color special edition commemorating the event.

While Seacoast Media Group has been operating since mid-winter at Pease, the official grand opening of the 67,000-square-foot facility had been put off until Wednesday and it was none too soon for SMG Director of Operations Paul Briand to formally introduce the company's new facility to the public. "All of us at Seacoast are thrilled this day has come," Briand said.

Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, a Democrat who is pursuing a seat in the U.S. Senate, noted the value of the Portsmouth Herald to its home community.

"There is no tool as effective at holding government accountable as the local press, and Seacoast Media Group does a great job at that," Marchand said.

The city's mayor also noted that while the focus of the opening was on the huge Goss press, SMG is much more than a publisher of newspapers.

"Unique to the Portsmouth Herald is the understanding that doing its job involves more than just printing papers," he said. "Today's world is more interactive, and the Herald has responded with an online presence and being involved in projects such as Portsmouth Listens."

SMG President and Publisher John Tabor said the official opening of the facility was an important event for the community, the company and its parent companies, Ottaway Newspapers and Dow Jones, which just turned down a $5 billion takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Ottaway Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Wilcox, who was present at the grand opening, congratulated Briand, Tabor and all the employees of SMG on their accomplishments.

"I'm very pleased," Wilcox said. "Thank you to all my Seacoast Media Group colleagues."

 
Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; dowjones.com) is a leading provider of global business news and information services. Its Consumer Media Group publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch and the Far Eastern Economic Review. Its Enterprise Media Group includes Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Dow Jones Licensing Services, Dow Jones Indexes and Dow Jones Financial Information Services. And its Local Media Group operates print and online community media franchises. Dow Jones provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.

For information and additional biographical information, contact:

Ken Hall, Corporate Communications
845-346-3182