Black Press Group Ltd. (BPG) is a Canadian commercial printer and newspaper publisher founded in 1975 by David Holmes Black. Based in Surrey, British Columbia, it was previously owned by the publisher of Toronto Star (Torstar, 19.35%) and Black (80.65%).
In March 2024, it was announced that Carpenter Media Group had completed its acquisition of the firm, in a deal that involved Canso Investment Counsel, Ltd.
Overview
Also known as Black Press Media, the company publishes in the United States through two subsidiaries, Oahu Publications in Hawaii and Sound Publishing in Alaska and Washington. It also owns Northern News Services based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
After acquiring three newspapers on the Kitsap Peninsula, the publisher passed the responsibility for maintaining its titles in Hawaii to Oahu Publications, a subsidiary formed in 2001 by BPG.
News Media Canada reported Black Press publishes 106 editions across Canada with a combined circulation of 1,295,243. The number of titles include 70 in British Columbia, 11 in Alberta, two in Northwest Territories and one in Yukon.
History
Canadian business deals (1969–present)
In 1969, Alan Black and Clive Stangoe acquired the Williams Lake Tribune of Williams Lake, BC. The weekly newspaper had previously been owned by Northwest Publications, where Alan Black worked as a manager. After the company dissolved, he acquired a majority stake in the company's smallest title alongside Stangoe, who worked as the paper's publisher. for $60,000. Black operated the Tribune exclusively for four years until purchasing the husband-and-wife owned Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal in nearby Ashcroft in 1979. Black continued to purchase other newspapers over time and soon formed newspaper clusters around Victoria and Vancouver.