dfm-1Digital First Media (DFM), the country’s second-largest newspaper publisher and parent company to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Downtown Gazette and the Grunion Gazette, and over 800 other print and online publications both local and national, announced today that its Board of Directors has initiated a process to “evaluate and consider strategic alternatives for the Company’s business,” namely, the sale of all or part of the company’s holdings.

In the statement, DFM’s Chief Executive Officer John Paton was quoted saying, “The news information industry in America is undergoing a period of seismic change, defined by the need to consolidate to rapidly compete in a digital world. The companies that will succeed are those which have meaningful scale and digital expertise. By anticipating the rapid revolution in our industry and responding to stay ahead of the curve, DFM has clearly emerged as a leading player, based on the high quality of our assets and the extensive work we have done to transform them into multi-platform products that deliver outstanding local news and exceptional opportunities for advertisers.”

The statement went on to say that options for the company’s future may include, but are not limited to, the sale of the Company as whole, the sale of one or more regional clusters, or the continued execution of its business plan as-is.

“It’s sort of the game these days,” Joe Segura, whose 40-year tenure at the Press-Telegram just ended last week, told the Post. “Executives are interested in a quick buck and not in journalistic standards. The last time we saw any type of investment at the P-T was through a limited approach by Digital First—a very limited effort to outperform the Long Beach Register. As soon as the Register lost its ability to perform in Long Beach, we saw a lack of interest in improving the newsroom. It’s a sad situation, mainly for the reporters. I think they have too many managers for one thing. But the reporters deserve better consideration by a company—which they will never receive from Digital First.”

While there are no assurances that the review process will result in any sale of all or even part of the company, and the Board has not set a definitive schedule to complete its review process, the San Jose Mercury Newsanother DFM property, has quoted newspaper analyst Ken Doctor of Outsell predicting a sale in the near future.

“I think we’ll see largely the dissolution of this company within six months,” Doctor told the Mercury News.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.