| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadband, cloud services provider |
| Founded | 1872 |
| Founder | Alfred B. Miller and Elmer Crockett |
| Successor | Gray Television (television assets only) Gannett (newspaper assets only) |
Key people | Todd F. Schurz (President and CEO) |
| Website | www |
Schurz Communications is a South Bend, Indiana-based broadband media group and cloud services provider. It owned newspapers.
The company was founded in 1872 by Alfred B. Miller and Elmer Crockett with the creation of the South Bend Tribune. Over the years the company grew through the acquisition of other newspapers, media outlets, radio and television stations, digital companies, broadband operations and cloud services provider. The expanding company was renamed Schurz Communications Inc. in 1976, when the newspapers division and the TV/broadcast division were split into separate entities.[1]
In September 2015, Schurz announced it was selling its TV and radio stations to Gray Television.[2] Gray then resold Schurz's radio stations to three different buyers upon completion of its purchase of the Schurz broadcasting unit.[3]
In September 2016, The American News and Farm Forum, owned by Schurz, acquired The Public Opinion newspaper in Watertown, South Dakota from United Communications.[4]
In February 2018, the company acquired the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Online Tech. The compliant hybrid cloud provider serves nearly 500 clients across the Midwest with its network of seven data centers and full suite of hybrid cloud services.[5] In December of that year, Online Tech acquired the assets and products of IT provider Neverfail. The acquisition includes Neverfail’s five cloud nodes and assets in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.[6]
In January 2019, Schurz sold its publishing division and all its newspapers to GateHouse Media for $30 million. This included 20 regional papers and several special publications in Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Dakota. GateHouse later bought the Gannett newspaper chain, and the expanded network of newspapers adopted the Gannett name. [7][8]
In March 2019 Schurz Communications bought the city-owned local broadband company Burlington Telecom of Burlington, Vermont for a total of $30.8 million.[9]
| AM Station | FM Station |
| City of license / Market | Station | Years owned | Current ownership status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette, Indiana | WASK 1450 | 1991–2016 | A Sports radio station owned by Neuhoff Communications |
| WASK-FM 98.7 | 1995–2016 | A Classic Hits station owned by Neuhoff Communications | |
| WKHY 93.5 | 2005–2016 | An Album-oriented Rock station owned by Neuhoff Communications | |
| WKOA 105.3 | 1991–2016 | A Country music station owned by Neuhoff Communications | |
| WXXB 102.9 | 2005–2016 | A Hot AC station owned by Neuhoff Communications | |
| South Bend, Indiana | WSBT 960 | 1922–2016 | A sports talk station owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting |
| WNSN 101.5 | 1962–2016 | An Adult contemporary station owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting | |
| WZOC 94.3 | 2012–2016 1 | A classic hits station owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting | |
| Benton Harbor, Michigan | WHFB-FM 99.9 | 2012–2016 1 | A Top 40 (CHR) station, WQLQ, owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting |
| Rapid City, South Dakota | KKLS 920 | 2006–2014 | A classic hits station owned by HomeSlice Media Group |
| KKMK 93.9 | 2006–2016 | A Hot AC station owned by HomeSlice Media Group | |
| KOUT 98.7 | 2006–2016 | A country music station owned by HomeSlice Media Group | |
| KFXS 100.3 | 2006–2016 | A Classic Rock station owned by HomeSlice Media Group | |
| Sturgis, South Dakota | KBHB 810 | 2006–2014 | A Farm news/info station owned by HomeSlice Media Group |
| KRCS 93.1 | 2006–2016 | A Top 40 (CHR) station owned by HomeSlice Media Group |
Notes:
| City of license/market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Years owned | Current ownership status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage, Alaska | KTUU-TV | 2 (10) | 2008–2016 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Augusta, Georgia | WAGT | 26 (30) | 1980–2016 1 | defunct, License cancelled in 2017. (Intellectual unit and NBC programming transferred to a Gray-owned license and renamed WAGT-CD.) |
| South Bend, Indiana | WSBT-TV ** | 22 (22) | 1952–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Hutchinson/Wichita, Kansas | KWCH-DT | 12 (19) | 2006–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| KSCW-DT | 33 (12) | 2007–2016 | The CW affiliate owned by Gray Television | |
| KDCU-DT | 31 (31) | 2 | Univision affiliate owned by Entravision Communications | |
| Ensign, Kansas | KBSD-DT (Satellite of KWCH-DT) |
6 (6) | 2006–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Goodland, Kansas | KBSL-DT (Satellite of KWCH-DT) |
10 (10) | 2006–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Hays, Kansas | KBSH-DT (Satellite of KWCH-DT) |
7 (7) | 2006–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Springfield, Missouri | KYTV | 3 (44) | 1987–2016 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| K15CZ-D | 15 (15) 3 | 2002–2016 | ABC affiliate, KSPR-LD, owned by Gray Television | |
| KSPR/KGHZ | 33 (19) 3 | 2016–2017 4 | defunct, License cancelled in 2017 | |
| Rapid City, South Dakota | KOTA-TV | 3 (2) | 2014–2016 | MeTV affiliate, KHME, owned by Gray Television (Intellectual unit and ABC programming transferred to a Gray-owned license and renamed KOTA-TV.) |
| Lead, South Dakota | KHSD-TV (Satellite of KOTA-TV) |
11 (10) | 2014–2016 | MeTV affiliate, KQME, owned by Gray Television (Intellectual unit and ABC programming transferred to a Gray-owned license and renamed KHSD-TV.) |
| Scottsbluff, Nebraska | KDUH-TV (Satellite of KOTA-TV) |
4 (7) | 2014–2016 | NBC affiliate, KNEP - Sidney, Nebraska, owned by Gray Television (Satellite of KNOP-TV) |
| Sheridan, Wyoming | KSGW-TV (Satellite of KOTA-TV) |
12 (13) | 2014–2016 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia | WDBJ | 7 (18) | 1969–2016 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
Notes:
