Reade Brower
Reade Brower | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 or 1957 (age 69–70) |
| Spouse |
Martha Brower (m. 1985) |
Reade Francis Brower is a businessperson who owned most of the newspapers in Maine for nearly a decade in the 21st century. His company, MaineToday Media, was described by The Maine Monitor as a "near-monopoly".[1] As of 2025, he owns three newspapers: The Ellsworth American (Ellsworth), The Mount Desert Islander (Bar Harbor), and the Midcoast Villager.
Personal life
[edit]Brower grew up in Westborough, Massachusetts, with his adoptive parents Carmel and Richard. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and graduated in 1978 with a degree in marketing. As of 2018, he is married to Martha McSweeney Brower (née Martha McSweeney). They were married in 1985.[2]
Career
[edit]Before owning newspapers, Brower was an entrepreneur who started several companies, including an auto catalog and direct-mail company that advertised to 600,000 Maine households each week.[3] In 1985, he founded The Free Press.[4] In 2015, Brower bought MaineToday Media from financier S. Donald Sussman.[5] He continued purchasing Maine newspapers;[a] in 2017, he owned 24 papers in Maine, including four of the state's seven daily newspapers.[6] In 2018, he had acquired six of the seven daily papers in the state, the exception being the Bangor Daily News).[7]
On March 30, 2023, he announced he was looking to sell or take on investors to Masthead Maine, the successor to MaineToday.[8] On March 31, Bangor Daily News reported that he owned five dailies and 25 weeklies, and six specialty publications.[9] He was 66 at the time.[10] On July 10, 2023, Bangor Daily News reported that Brower had sold the five daily newspapers and 17 weeklies he owned to the nonprofit National Trust for Local News.[11]
MaineStay Media
[edit]He owns six weeklies that he did not sell in 2023: The Ellsworth American (Ellsworth), The Mount Desert Islander (Bar Harbor), The Courier-Gazette (Rockland), The Republican Journal (Belfast), The Camden Herald (Camden), and The Free Press (Camden).[12][13] Those six papers had united under the company MaineStay Media in 2022.[14] Four of those newspapers (The Courier-Gazette, The Republican Journal, The Camden Herald and The Free Press) were combined in 2024 to form the Midcoast Villager.[4]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ See MaineToday Media § Brower for an outline of some acquisitions.
References
[edit]- ↑ McCarthy, Patricia (2018-05-28). "Constant Concern and a Glimmer of Hope". The Maine Monitor. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ↑ McCarthy, Patricia (2018-06-06). "Owning It: Reade Brower has followed heart, instincts throughout his career". The Maine Monitor. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ↑ Richardson, Whit (2015-05-04). "MaineToday buyer: Entrepreneur with a community focus". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- 1 2 Fleury Capetta, Kathleen (2024-08-07). "Publisher's Letter: Building a New Future for Local News in Midcoast Maine". The Free Press. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
- ↑ Fishell, Darren (2015-04-28). "Press Herald papers purchased by midcoast businessman Reade Brower". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ↑ Carpenter, Murray (2017-11-27). "Meet the Media Mogul of Maine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2017-11-28; republished in the Rutland Herald as "The unassuming media mogul of Maine (and Vermont)".
- ↑ "Owner Of Maine's Biggest Newspaper Buys More Publications". Maine Public. 2018-03-23. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ↑ Craig, Steve (2023-04-24). "Press Herald owner considering sale of his newspapers to new nonprofit". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ↑ Valigra, Lori; Shepherd, Michael (March 31, 2023). "Press Herald owner considers selling his Maine newspaper empire". Maine Public. Contributions by Paul Koenig. Bangor Daily News.
- ↑ "Masthead Maine exploring the sale of 30 newspapers". AP News. 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ↑ "Maine newspaper empire will sell to a national nonprofit". Bangor Daily News. July 10, 2023.
- ↑ Monitor, The Maine (2023-07-10). "Nonprofit to buy Portland Press Herald and other Maine papers". The Maine Monitor. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ↑ Burnham, Kevin (2023-07-19). "Keeping the mastheads". Boothbay Register. Archived from the original on 2023-07-19. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ↑ "Local news outlets join forces as MaineStay Media". The Courier-Gazette. 2022-01-06. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
External links
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