Copley finds buyer for Peoria Journal Star

San Diego — A chain of Midwest papers is the rumored buyer of the Peoria Journal Star, put on the block by David Copley to pay his late mother Helen's estate taxes, reports blogger Billy Dennis in his Peoria Pundit. "GateHouse Media owns the Pekin Daily Times, the Canton Daily Ledger and a bunch of other Illinois newspapers I recognize as being once owned by my former employer, American Publishing Company," writes Dennis. "I have no first- or even second-hand knowledge about how GateHouse operates, but if it resembles APC in any way, shape or form, look for drastic and continuous cuts in staff, look for reporters to be given two byline per day quota, look for reporters to be handed cameras and told to provide their own 'art' for their stories. In fact, look for cost cutting to take on overwhelming importance." ... Meanwhile, the Torrance Daily Breeze, recently sold by Copley to the Hearst Corporation in a complicated deal that ultimately will place it into the hands of Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group, reports that Copley has arranged to sell the newspaper's former headquarters on Torrance Boulevard for between $14 and $16 million. The property is to be purchased by the nearby Little Company of Mary Hospital and developed into medical office buildings.