The Mat-Su Sentinel has acquired the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman from Arizona-based Wick Communications, marking a major shift in ownership for the nearly 80-year-old newspaper and bringing the publication under locally based nonprofit ownership.
The transition takes effect June 1, Wick and Mat-Su Sentinel announced Friday. As part of the change, the Frontiersman will end its print edition and become part of the digital-only Mat-Su Sentinel newsroom operation.
In a message announcing the transition, Wick Communications described the sale as a return of the publication’s future “to local Alaskan hands.” “We could not have found a better successor,” Wick CEO Josh O’Conner said in a statement. “The Mat-Su Sentinel is the perfect local owner.” Wick, which has owned the Frontiersman since 1996, will continue operating its Wasilla printing facility…