WEST PALM BEACH — Cox Media Group is, at least today, one of the most emblematic examples of what a multimedia company in 2019 can be. It owns four daily newspapers — namely its flagship Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Dayton Daily News, tied to Cox’s founding. The local newspaper Cox once owned in this South Florida metropolis is now a GateHouse Media-owned publication.
Then, there are Cox’s radio stations, with a cluster just to the south in Miami, and station groups to the north and west in Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. And, on the digital side, are local TV advertising tool Videa and CoxReps.
In mid-March 2018, Cox Media Group President Kim Guthrie told RBR+TVBR that talk of the company selling off nearly all of its radio stations was unfounded. Then came word in July 2018 that its 14 TV stations are in play … sort of. Cox confirmed that it “will explore strategic options” for its TV properties, including partnering or merging the stations into a larger company. What Cox is not doing, Guthrie told RBR+TVBR, is outright divesting the properties. “We are looking not to sell our stations, but to pursue a merger or partnership,” she said at the time.
A fresh CNBC report counters Guthrie’s statement.
