SouthComm Inc., the parent of NashvillePost.com, has completed its acquisition of The City Paper.

The deal unites The City Paper’s Monday and Friday print editions and Web site with NashvillePost.com’s daily Web offerings and SouthComm’s other local and regional media holdings.

On May 6, SouthComm Publishing won two magazine design awards from the Magazine Association of the Southeast.

SouthComm took the Gold for Best Single Issue Published Three Times or Less Per Year. The winning publication was Work, Live and Play, based in Jacksonville.

SouthComm also took Silver in the same category for its design of Destination Beaufort.

A complete list of winners is available at the Magazine Association of the Southeast website.

SouthComm Communications, Inc., a Tennessee-based media and publishing company, has acquired LEO, an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Louisville area,  from Times Publishing Co. of Pennsylvania.

LEO, the Louisville Eccentric Observer, was founded in 1990 by John Yarmuth  to provide news and commentary on current affairs as well as a guide to regional entertainment and recreation opportunities. The paper is distributed for free at more than 850 locations in Louisville and Southern Indiana and reaches more than 179,000 people.

“We’re very pleased to bringing LEO into the SouthComm fold,” said Chris Ferrell, Chief Executive Officer of SouthComm Communications. “Our vision is to build a family of niche publications that produces quality products for distinct audiences. With its strong track record of insightful and relevant coverage of the Louisville area, LEO fits that mold perfectly.”

As part of the deal, Pam Brooks will remain publisher, a position she has held since 2003.

SouthComm Communications was formed late last year to develop and acquire media properties around the Southeast. Its initial portfolio company was SouthComm Publishing, a custom publishing company based in Atlanta. Since then, it has grown to include business and political new site NashvillePost.com, Music Row magazine, BusinessTN magazine and Medical News Papers. The company also has signed an agreement to acquire The City Paper in Nashville and plans this summer to launch Her Nashville, a regional women’s magazine.

“LEO has evolved into the Louisville area’s most urbane and challenging newsweekly by looking beyond the surface and delivering locally relevant information that can’t be found elsewhere,” said Brooks. “We look forward to tapping the talents of the SouthComm team to help us provide even more value to our readers, advertisers and publishing partners.”

Chris Ferrell is no newcomer to the alternative weekly world, having formerly served as publisher of the Nashville Scene.  Prior to that Ferrell served eight years as a councilman at-large in Nashville-Davidson County.

by NashvillePost.com staff

SouthComm Communications, the parent company of NashvillePost.com, has acquired Medical News Papers, Inc., the company behind a chain of publications catering to healthcare professionals in 10 markets across the Southeast.

Medical News Papers produces publications covering the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi as well as regional papers for the Birmingham, Charlotte, East Tennessee, Memphis, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa markets. Combined, the papers reach more than 105,000 physicians, healthcare operators and executives and affiliated service providers.

“Healthcare professionals across the region have for years relied on us to keep them informed about the latest clinical, business and regulatory trends affecting the practice of medicine,” said Mac Hardcastle, CEO of Medical News Papers. “Joining the SouthComm family will enable us to fulfill that mission even more successfully.”

The Medical News deal is the fifth in less than a month for SouthComm, which was formed late last year to develop and acquire media properties around the Southeast. The company, which is led by Chris Ferrell, has recently brought on board BusinessTN and Music Row as well as announcing plans for Her Nashville, a women’s magazine that will launch this summer, and signing a letter of intent to buy The City Paper.

by NashvillePost.com staff

SouthComm Communications, the parent company of NashvillePost.com, has signed a letter of intent to acquire The City Paper and will integrate that organization with its other local media holdings.

As part of the deal, The City Paper will next month transition to publishing print editions only on Mondays and Fridays while expanding its online political and community news coverage and drawing on the resources of fellow SouthComm properties NashvillePost.com, Music Row magazine and BusinessTN.

"This is a truly transformational deal for Nashville media consumers – one that recognizes where the majority of people get their news today," said SouthComm CEO Chris Ferrell. "SouthComm Communications is built on the premise that Americans increasingly want their daily news delivered online and that the future of print is in high-quality, intelligent, niche products that come out on a less-frequent basis."

by NashvillePost.com staff

SouthComm Communications, the parent company of NashvillePost.com, will this summer launch a local women’s magazine.

Her Nashville will be a free monthly, feature a range of topics of interest to women and be distributed in racks throughout Nashville and parts of Williamson County. It will be edited by native Nashvillian Ashley Haugen, former managing editor of Nashville, Williamson and Rutherford Parent magazines as well as a national pop-culture publication for young adults.

“I'm excited to give the women of Middle Tennessee what they've been missing in local magazines,” said Haugen. “We plan to have a variety of stimulating stories, photos and columns in every issue that will appeal to every woman on some level.”

The launch of Her Nashville comes after SouthComm, which is headed by former Nashville Scene publisher Chris Ferrell, recently acquired Music Row and BusinessTN.

by NashvillePost.com staff

SouthComm Communications, the parent company of NashvillePost.com, has agreed to acquire Decision Media Inc., adding statewide business magazine BusinessTN to its publishing holdings.

BusinessTN reaches more than 40,000 business and community leaders across the state. The magazine was launched in 1993 as Business Nashville relaunched as a statewide publication in January 2004.

“We are excited by the opportunities this acquisition creates to better serve our readers, advertisers and publishing partners,” said Chris Stovall, publisher of BusinessTN, who will remain in that position.

SouthComm, which is headed by former Nashville Scene publisher Chris Ferrell and funded by Solidus Co., last month acquired Music Row.

by NashvillePost.com staff

SouthComm Communications Inc., the parent company of NashvillePost.com, has acquired Music Row, the respected publisher of music magazines, special reports and other entertainment industry products.

As part of the deal, Music Row publisher and CEO David Ross will become vice president and board member of SouthComm while retaining his post at the helm of the 25-year-old entertainment news outlet. The entire staff of Music Row will stay on.

"Music Row began transitioning its business model online in 2000," says Chris Ferrell, CEO of SouthComm. "Today, its entrepreneurial mix of print and digital is truly revolutionary."

Ross called the collaboration with SouthComm "a great fit" and said he looks forward to the added exposure for Music Row's products as well as the cross-marketing opportunities with SouthComm's other properties.

"We're looking forward to the next 25 years of covering Nashville's music industry as it continues to grow and evolve," he said.

by NashvillePost.com staff

Nashville Post Co. has been incorporated into SouthComm Communications Inc., a new media holding company that is being funded by Solidus Co., the majority investor in NashvillePost.com.

The deal makes NashvillePost.com, which posted record readership numbers in 2007, part of a Nashville-based publishing group focused on niche audiences. Chris Ferrell, ex-publisher of the Nashville Scene and former Metro Council member, is CEO of SouthComm.

“Our mission is focused on breaking news that is relevant to and actionable for our high-powered audience,” said Todd Staff, publisher of NashvillePost.com. “With the support of the SouthComm organization, we look forward to being able to bring our readers even more of the smart, aggressive reporting they’ve come to expect.”

SouthComm was formed late last year to develop and acquire media properties around the Southeast. Its initial portfolio company was SouthComm Publishing Company Inc., a custom publisher based in Alpharetta, Ga.

Ferrell said the acquisition of NashvillePost.com is “another important step in realizing our vision” and said the company will “continue our aggressive expansion as we move further into 2008.”