Evening Post Purchases Columbia Free Times
may 2, 2016 04:00 pm
Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group has purchased the Columbia Free Times newspaper from Resorts Media LLC, the companies announced today.
Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group publishes daily and community newspapers in South Carolina, including The Post and Courier, winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Chris Ratliff, an executive with more than 15 years in the media business, has been named Publisher and Advertising Director of the Free Times. Most recently, Ratliff was Advertising Director for the Salisbury (N.C.) Post. Previously, he served as a sales manager for media organizations in Colorado, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Andy Shain has been named Editor of the Free Times and PalmettoPolitics.com. Shain, who has nearly 30 years of experience as an editor and reporter, was most recently politics, government and higher education reporter for The State in Columbia. He has worked in business, news and sports during his career, including stops at the Charlotte Observer and The Sun-News in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“This move is a natural extension of Evening Post’s mission to build community,” said P.J. Browning, Senior Vice President of Evening Post Industries and Publisher of The Post and Courier. “Our newspaper group has established a reputation for providing award-winning news and information to the communities we serve. We are excited to continue that work in Columbia.”
Resorts Media purchased Free Times from Portico Media of Charlottesville, Va., in 2012. The award-winning paper serves Columbia and the surrounding areas of Richland and Lexington counties.
