Princeton Packet, 10 Sister NJ Papers, Up for Sale

The Princeton Packet and its 10 sister newspapers in central New Jersey are up for sale as the longtime owner plans to retire. Packet Media Group owner James Kilgore said in a story Friday in the Packet that he is looking to sell both the community newspaper publishing company and its Princeton property.

The twice-weekly Princeton Packet is the largest of the papers with a paid circulation of about 8,000 and also the oldest. It has been published since 1786 under several names and as the Princeton Packet since 1916.

The newspaper group has about 100 employees. Kilgore, 63, said in his announcement that his decision to sell now is due in part to a recent health scare.

The company has been in his family since 1955 when his late father, Barney Kilgore, an editor credited with leading the transformation of the Wall Street Journal into one of the nation's best newspapers, purchased his hometown newspaper and started adding publications.

Kilgore said he would like to retire in the next three to six months. "You start to think, what would happen if something happened to me and the family. You've got to begin the process some time," he told the Packet. "You have to start to plan. I've worked here a lot. My family doesn't see me much."

He is looking to sell the company in its entirety but said he would not be opposed, if necessary, to selling off individual publications.

General manager Brad Koltz told the newspaper he has expressed interest in buying the company. Besides the Packet, the other community newspapers in the group are: The Beacon; Cranbury Press; Hillsborough Beacon; Hopewell Valley News; The Lawrence Ledger; The Manville News; The Messenger-Press; The Register-News; South Brunswick Post, and the Windsor-Hights Herald.

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