4 Columbia TV stations sold to St. Joseph group

Thursday, July 26, 2012

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A St. Joseph-based media group plans to buy four Columbia television stations.

JW Broadcasting announced Wednesday it had signed an agreement to sell KMIZ-TV, Fox-22, MyZouTV and Me-TV for $16 million to the News-Press and Gazette Co. of St. Joseph.

The Federal Communications Commission must approve the deal.

JW Broadcasting is part of Boston-based private equity firm Alta Communications. The News-Press & Gazette is led by David Bradley, who is also chairman of the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/MLrHHn ) Bradley plans to avoid any conflict of interest problems by recusing himself from any curators business involving KOMU-TV, which is owned by the university.

The sale is expected to close in November.