Morris Communications Company LLC has announced the purchase of Equine Journal
March 26, 2012

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Morris Communications Company LLC has announced the purchase of Equine Journal and related assets from Turley Publications, Inc. The purchase was completed March 19, 2012.

Equine Journal joins the Morris Communications family of equine magazines and related businesses, including Western Horseman, Horsemen’s Yankee Pedlar, Barrel Horse News, Quarter Horse News, HorseCity.com, HYP.com, National Barrel Horse Association, and Lyons Press.

Based in Keene, N.H., Equine Journal has been the horse enthusiast’s all-breed/all-discipline source for award-winning features and columns, news and events, for more than 20 years. Equine Journal also publishes two annual supplements, circulated to subscribers and industry influencers throughout the east coast, as well as a quarterly sister publication, Gypsy Horse Journal.

William S. Morris III, CEO and chairman of Morris Communications, said, “I have admired Equine Journal and its experienced and knowledgeable staff for years, and it is a pleasure to welcome the publication into the Morris Communications group.”

Natalee Roberts, associate publisher of Equine Journal, will report to Paul Smith, president of MCC Magazines, effective immediately. “While I am sad to see the long and fruitful partnership with Turley Publications come to an end, the new ownership by Morris Communications will enable our continued growth,” Roberts said.

Morris Magazines, LLC, is a division of Morris Communications Company, LLC, a privately held media company with diversified holdings that include newspaper publishing, visitor-guide publishing, outdoor advertising, magazine publishing, radio broadcasting, book publishing and distribution, and online services. For more information, visit www.morris.com.

Turley Publications, Inc. was formed 50 years ago as a small, family-owned business. The Palmer, Mass., company has expanded and diversified as multi-dimensional media company encompassing 15 community newspapers, a national antiques magazine and a regional home-and-garden design publication, commercial printing services and its own advertising agency. For more information, visit www.turley.com.
 

MCC Magazines, LLC

The Morris magazine division has steadily pursued the concept of clustering by subject or geography. An overview of the division shows sub-groups of outdoor and leisure magazines, including a variety of magazines serving Alaska, a growing equine cluster and four city magazines.

The equine group serves an audience of sportsmen and women bound by their passion for horses. Quarter Horse News and Barrel Horse News serve distinct niches within the performance horse industry as well as HorseCity.com. The site captured the Forbes magazine 2001 and 2002 "Best of the Web" award in the equine category. Western Horseman, purchased by the company in 2001, has been the leading horse magazine in the world since 1936.

Gray's Sporting Journal is the flagship of the outdoor-life group and the hallmark of its quality. A premier magazine of the sporting life, Gray's claims international readership and recognition. In 2002 Morris added American Angler, Fly Tyer and Saltwater Fly Fishing magazines to the outdoor-life group.

The Morris Alaska publications range from coverage of outdoor life to commerce, business and tourism, geographically focused on America's "frontier state." The group includes The Milepost, Alaska Magazine and Destination Alaska