UPDATE: New York Times reported to sell Herald-Tribune

UPDATE: In a press release today, the New York Times Company has confirmed that the company is in discussions to sell its Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Holdings LLC. The Regional Media Group consists of 16 newspapers and other related businesses. To see a list of the businesses that comprises Regional Media Group, click here, or scroll below.

According to a blog on the nytimes.com, the New York Times Company is close to selling regional newspapers to Halifax Media Group.

The blog indicates information is coming from people familiar with the discussions. The regional newspapers to be sold include the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Gainesville Sun, the Ocala Star-Banner, the Lakeland Ledger and the Winter Haven News.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Gainesville Sun accounted for 11% of the Times' $2.4 billion in revenue in 2010. According to the article, regional publications have had a steady decline driven by lack of classified ads and migration of readers to the web.

The Halifax Media Group, whose website is currently not operational, is a Daytona Beach-based group. The company owns The Daytona-Beach News Journal as well as five other Florida papers and other papers in southern states.

A screenshot of the Halifax Media Group's website was captured and sent to jimromensko.com. The image included Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Gainesville Sun in their list of publications.

Contact Eddie Kirsch at [email protected].

Regional Media Group businesses
The Regional Media Group is comprised of the following:

• Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fla.;
• The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.;
• The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.;
• Star-News in Wilmington, N.C.;
• Herald-Journal in Spartanburg, S.C.;
• Star-Banner in Ocala, Fla.;
• The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla.;
• The Tuscaloosa News in Tuscaloosa, Ala.;
• The Gadsden Times in Gadsden, Ala.;
• The Courier in Houma, La.;
• Times-News in Hendersonville, N.C.;
• Daily Comet in Thibodaux, La.;
• The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C.;
• Petaluma Argus-Courier in Petaluma, Calif.;
• News Chief in Winter Haven, Fla.; and
• North Bay Business Journal in Santa Rosa, Calif.