HUDSON – An agreement has been reached for The Ogden Newspapers Inc., a family-owned company with 40 daily newspapers in 12 states, to become the new owner of The Telegraph, Publisher Terrence L. Williams announced Monday.

Independent Publications Inc., which has owned The Telegraph since 1977, announced in late December that it would sell the daily newspaper and its associated weeklies and websites.

Williams introduced Robert M. Nutting, president and chief executive officer of Ogden Newspapers, to Telegraph employees Monday afternoon.

“My family is proud to become the successor publisher of The Telegraph,” Nutting said. “We are
committed to continuing the proud history of a paper which has dutifully served its community for 181 years. We look forward to taking The Telegraph into the future, and continue its award-winning tradition.”

Nutting, who is the incoming chairman of the Newspaper Association of America, said acquiring The Telegraph is an indication of his family’s continued commitment to the newspaper industry.

“The Telegraph will continue to be the best source of news and information in the greater Nashua area,” Nutting said. “When you combine The Telegraph’s readership, in print and online, it clearly reaches more people than any other media outlet in the region. It will continue to be the best connection to the communities it serves and deliver real value to the readership.”

Included in the sale are the Cabinet newspapers, The Cabinet of Milford, Merrimack Journal, Bedford Journal and the Hollis Brookline Journal. Websites included in the transaction are nashuatelegraph.com, nh.com, and
thelobbynh.com.

The ownership change will take place April 22, Williams said.

“This is a new, exciting chapter for The Telegraph,” he said Monday. “The Nutting family and the Ogden company are clearly committed to newspapers. They are enthusiastic and passionate about the purpose of newspapers and believe steadfastly in the core principles of what we do.”

Ogden Newspapers was founded in 1890 when H.C. Ogden first published a newspaper in Wheeling, W.Va.

After acquiring several newspapers in West Virginia, in the 1960s the company began acquiring properties in other states.

Today Ogden Newspapers also has holdings in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, Florida, Hawaii, New York, Virginia and now New Hampshire.

Robert Nutting and his brother William represent the fourth generation to manage the newspaper group. William O. Nutting is currently a member of the board of directors of The Associated Press and is the past president of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association.

The Telegraph dates back to 1832. It has been published as a daily newspaper since 1869.

Independent Publications Inc., led by the McLean family of Bryn Mawr, Pa., has owned The Telegraph for more than three decades. The company acquired 100 percent of the stock in the Telegraph Publishing Co. in 1977, purchasing the paper from several prominent families.

“When I announced to staff the decision by the McLean family in December to sell its holdings, I mentioned the difficulty of that choice,” Williams said. “I can only imagine how hard it was, given that Independent Publications Inc. has been around for more than 100 years.

“I do know this much: the family would want the paper to pass to a family-run operation; they would want The Telegraph to continue to be operated by a newspaper company; and they would most want to put The Telegraph into highly capable and successful hands. That has certainly happened.”

In 2005, Independent Publications purchased the Cabinet Press Inc. of Milford, publisher of four weekly newspapers, including The Cabinet, which was established in 1803.

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