Landmark Communications 2406622 225669720 2008-07-14T20:42:18Z Wcquidditch 454221 Another Landmark property has a buyer - WTVF is going to Bonten Media Group. {{Infobox Company | company_name = Landmark Communications | company_logo =[[Image:LCNI.gif]] | company_type =Private | genre = Media | foundation = <!-- this parameter modifies "Founded" --> | founder = [[Frank Batten]] | location =150 W. Brambleton Avenue<br/>[[Norfolk, Virginia]] 23510-2075 | origins = | key_people = | area_served = | industry = | products = | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | num_employees = [[9000]] | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | owner = | company_slogan = | homepage =[http://www.landmarkcom.com/ www.landmarkcom.com] | dissolved = | footnotes = }} '''Landmark Communications''' is a [[privately held]] [[Mass media|media]] company headquartered in [[Norfolk, Virginia]] and specializing in [[cable television]], [[Terrestrial television|broadcast television]], [[Publishing|print publishing]], and [[Electronic publishing|internet publishing]]. In addition to publishing, it has subsidiaries in what Landmark characterizes as "emerging businesses" that include database marketing, career education and [[trade show]]s. ==Properties== Landmark's best-known media outlet is [[The Weather Channel (United States)|The Weather Channel]] based in [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. In early 2008 Landmark Communications announced it was exploring the option to sell all its holdings. Two separate [[Investment banking|investment banks]], [[JPMorgan Chase]] and [[Lehman Brothers]], were hired to help with the sale of The Weather Channel and the newspapers. Landmark employs approximately [[9000]] people. The probability that one buyer will purchase the entire Landmark holdings are low. In July 2008, the company announced the [[USD|$]]3.5 Billion sale of The Weather Channel properties to [[NBC Universal]], and the [[Private equity|private equity]] firms [[Blackstone Group]] and [[Bain Capital]]. Landmark and NBC Universal expected to complete the sale by the end of 2008.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sutel|first=Seth|title=NBC Universal to buy The Weather Channel for $3.5B|publisher=Associated Press|date=[[2008-07-06]]|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080706/ap_on_hi_te/nbc_weather_channel|accessdate=[[2008-07-08]]}}</ref> Additionally, on July 14, it was announced that [[WTVF]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]] would be sold to [[Bonten Media Group]].<ref name="bc-wtvfsale">{{cite news |title=Bonten Buys WTVF-TV Nashville from Landmark |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6578295.html?rssid=193 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]] |date=2008-07-14 |accessdate=2008-07-14 }}</ref> In addition to The Weather Channel, Landmark owns the following weather properties: * ''[[weather.com]]'' * [http://www.wsi.com Weather Services International] Landmark owns and is selling four major daily [[newspaper]]s: * ''[[The Virginian-Pilot]]'', Norfolk, Virginia * ''[[The Roanoke Times]]'', [[Roanoke, Virginia]] * ''[[Greensboro News & Record|News & Record]]'', [[Greensboro, North Carolina]] * ''[[The Annapolis Capital]]'', [[Annapolis]], [[Maryland]] <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502587.html?referrer=email</ref> Through its Landmark Community Newspapers subsidiary, it owns and is selling five community daily newspapers: *''The [[Carroll County Times]]'', [[Westminster, Maryland]] *''[[Citrus County Chronicle]]'', [[Crystal River, Florida]] *''[[The News-Enterprise]]'', [[Elizabethtown, Kentucky]] *''[[Los Alamos Monitor]]'', [[Los Alamos, New Mexico]] *''[[Las Vegas Optic]]'', [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]] It also owns and is selling over 120 community and special-interest newspapers in sixteen states. This includes seven publications that cover college sports at [[Florida State University]], [[University of Florida]], [[Indiana University Bloomington|Indiana University]], [[University of Iowa]], [[University of Nebraska]], [[University of Kentucky]], and [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]. Landmark owns and is selling three broadcast outlets: * [[KLAS-TV]], [[Las Vegas, Nevada]] * [[WTVF-TV]], [[Nashville, Tennessee]] * [[The Weather Channel (United States)|The Weather Channel]], [[Cumberland (Atlanta)|Atlanta, Georgia]] Landmark is also part-owner (with [[Pelmorex]]) of Canadian weather channels [[The Weather Network]] and [[MétéoMédia]]. A second cable outlet, [[The Travel Channel]] was owned by the company from [[1990]] to [[1996]], when it was sold to [[Paxson Communications]], who subsequently sold it to [[Discovery Communications]], who subsequently sold it to [[Cox Communications]]. Landmark also owns Continental Broadband, one of the leading providers of data center (colocation) and managed data network services in the United States. Continental Broadband has seven business units: * '''[http://www.datapointinc.com DataPoint]''', Baltimore, Maryland * '''[http://www.expedient.com Expedient]''', three locations in Boston, Pittsburgh and Cleveland * '''[http://www.anet.com ANET]''', Chicago, Illinois * '''[http://www.nframe.com nFrame]''', Indianapolis, Indiana * '''[http://www.nettelcos.com NET Telcos]''', Richmond, Virginia It owns four [[Vocational education|career training]] schools that focus on health-related career education: *[http://www.success.edu/ Glendale Career College] *[[Certified Careers Institute]] *[http://www.nevadacareerinstitute.com/ Nevada Career Institute] *[http://www.virginiacareerinstitute.edu Virginia Career Institute] ==Former properties== Landmark formerly owned [[WFMY-TV]], [[Greensboro, North Carolina]] and WTAR-TV (now [[WTKR]]) [[Norfolk, Virginia]], but was forced by FCC crossownership rules to sell both stations in the 1970s. Under the rule, Landmark could not own both a newspaper and a television station in those markets. Landmark also used to own the [[Washingtonian]] Magazine, until its rights were traded to [[Eleanor Merrill]], widow of publisher [[Philip Merrill]], in a trade for ownership of the [[Annapolis Capital]] newspaper. <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502587.html?referrer=email</ref> Landmark owned the hobby publisher Antique Trader Publications until its sale to Krause Publications in 1999.<ref>http://www.antiquetrader.com/AboutUs/</ref> In addition, Landmark was a former owner of [[KNTV]] in [[San Jose, California]] (now an [[NBC]] [[Owned-and-operated television stations in the United States|owned-and-operated station]], serving the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] media market). During Landmark's twelve-year ownership of the station (which lasted from 1978 to 1990), KNTV (affiliated with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and serving the [[Monterey, California|Monterey]] / [[Salinas, California|Salinas]] media market at the time) was its only station that was not an affiliate of the [[CBS]] network. Landmark also breifly owned [[WDBJ-TV]] in Roanoke, but was forced to sell it immediately due to FCC Restrictions. On [[September 19]], 2007, it was announced that Continental Broadband, a Landmark Communications Company, sold its South Florida Business Unit, WebUnited to '''[http://www.host.net Host.net]''', the leading provider of data center (colocation) and managed network services in Florida.<ref>http://www.contbb.com/newsroom/pressRelease_091907.htm</ref> On [[January 3]], 2008, it was reported that the entire Landmark Communications company may be for sale.<ref>{{cite news|last=Choyke|first=Bill|coauthors=Walzer, Phil|title=Battens may sell The Roanoke Times' parent company|publisher=The Roanoke Times|date=[[2008-01-03]]|url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/145644|accessdate=[[2008-01-03]]}}</ref> ==References== <div class="references-small"> {{reflist}} </div> ==See also== *[[Floyd Abrams and the Landmark Communications case]] == External links == * [http://www.landmarkcom.com/ Official website] * [http://www.landmarked.com/ Landmark Education Services official website] * [http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/landmark.asp Who Owns What: Landmark Communications], from the ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'' * [http://www.thelancasternews.com/articles/2005/06/29/news/news04_pageland.txt LCNI buys Pageland paper], a June 2005 article about Landmark's purchase of the ''[[Pageland Progressive-Journal]]'' * [http://continentalbroadband.com/newsroom/ Continental Broadband Newsroom] {{Landmark Communications}} [[Category:Media companies of the United States]] [[Category:Newspaper companies of the United States]] [[Category:Television broadcasting companies of the United States]] [[Category:Companies based in Norfolk, Virginia]]