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 =
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| num_employees = [[9000]]
| parent =
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| homepage =[http://www.landmarkcom.com/ www.landmarkcom.com]
| dissolved =
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}}
'''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]]