The News-Journal Center
In January 2003, the News-Journal offered to pay $13 million for naming rights to a new performing arts center in Daytona Beach being built as a new home for the Seaside Music Theater, founded by News-Journal CEO Tippen Davidson. Cox Enterprises filed suit against the News-Journal Corp. (NJC) in U.S. Federal Court, alleging they "acted irresponsibly in spending corporate funds". Cox alleged that the Davidson family spent the newspaper's money without consulting with them.
Court documents reveal that in the five-year period prior to the filing of Cox's complaint, at least 58 employees of Davidson's arts and entertainment ventures were on the News-Journal Corp. payroll, unbeknownst to NJC's sole minority shareholder. Despite the fact that these employees did no work for NJC, the corporation provided them with full salaries and benefits, at a cost to the company of at least $5.7 million. The trial court found that tens of millions of dollars were diverted to Davidson family projects to "indulge personal interests in the arts".
After failing to have the suit dismissed, the News-Journal Corp. decided to exercise its option to buy out the minority shares. In 2006, the federal court set a valuation of $129.2 million on Cox's interest in the paper. Newspaper management announced in April 2008 that the newspaper would be sold in order to satisfy the judgment. On April 17, 2009, the News-Journal announced its intention to declare bankruptcy, but the judge overseeing the case rejected that option. The board of directors was subsequently removed and the company was placed under court control, with James Hopson serving as the court-appointed manager.
Halifax Media Holdings purchased the News-Journal on March 1, 2010, for $20 million. Halifax Media is owned by a group of investors, including Stephens Capital Partners, of Little Rock, Arkansas; JAASSS Media of Destin, Florida; and Redding Investments of Daytona Beach. The new owners assumed control on April 1, 2010, naming Michael Redding, Halifax Media's CEO and a former News-Journal department manager, as publisher of the paper.
Read more about this topic: The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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