Gazette News Group owner and publisher John DeAugustine in the Enterprise newsroom Tuesday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Lake Placid News have been sold to Gazette News Group, a Schenectady-based news company that has been growing its reach in recent years.

The sale is set to be finalized at the start of March and will bring some changes to both local papers as they are brought into the Gazette family of publications.

The Enterprise has been owned by Ogden Newspapers for 48 years — since 1978.

Gazette News Group owner and publisher John DeAugustine said they are a family-owned company with a focus on local content and plan to increase local coverage.

Enterprise and News Publisher John Gereau said when he heard about the acquisition, he was glad to hear it was the Gazette. The company has a good reputation, he said. He knows DeAugustine from his years in the business, and worked with Gazette Managing Editor John McIntyre before.

Gereau said he knows their commitment to local news and hopes their acquisition of the Enterprise and News will lead to additional local coverage.

The daily paper will shift from publishing six days a week to five days a week — Tuesday through Saturday. The papers will no longer be printed in-house at the news offices in Saranac Lake. Subscribers, however, will see no change in the daily delivery of the paper.

While some positions at the Enterprise will be affected by the acquisition as jobs are consolidated and the printing operation is moved, the editorial and sales teams will remain intact.

DeAugustine said he worked hard to acquire the Enterprise and News because he believes in the paper’s mission.

“We went after Ogden and asked them to sell it to us,” he said. “The Enterprise is the perfect example of a community newspaper that has deep, deep roots in the towns that they serve. It’s exactly what the Gazette News Group strives to achieve.”

He said he believes that a strong community newspaper is one of the pillars of a successful region.

“These newspapers exemplify the very best of community journalism, with a deep commitment to keeping residents informed and strengthening the communities they serve,” DeAugustine said in a statement. “Saranac Lake and Lake Placid are markets with a rich history and an exciting future. We are eager to expand our coverage and presence in these vibrant areas.”

Odgen CEO Robert Nutting said the newspapers have served the readers, advertisers and community well for many years, providing excellent reporting on the people, places and events that make Saranac Lake and Lake Placid special.

“The Gazette News Group has established a strong network of newspapers serving this region, so we are very comfortable they will shepherd the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Lake Placid News well into the future,” Nutting said in a statement. “We believe allowing these newspapers to become part of a strong and respected regional group works for their long-term health.”

He also praised the many excellent managers and employees who served those living in the Adirondack region over the years.

“We have had such great leadership at these newspapers, starting with Bill Doolittle, followed by Catherine Moore and Andy Flynn and so many others,” Nutting said. “They understood the importance of community — and also the region’s place in American history. Good, dedicated employees are at the heart of a great community newspaper — and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Lake Placid News both had wonderful employees producing and delivering great newspapers.”

Gazette News Group owns and operates five daily and four weekly newspapers in Northeast New York — including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, The Recorder in Amsterdam, The Leader Herald in Gloversville, The Daily Mail in Catskill, The Register Star in Hudson, the weekly group of Spotlight News in Delmar and Colonie and The Spot 518 arts and entertainment weekly.

The Leader Herald was also an Ogden publication, which Gazette News Group acquired in 2021. In September, Gazette acquired Spotlight News.

DeAugustine said that Gazette has been able to grow through “focus” — local news, local advertising and what local readers want to see. He said they invest in technology to improve the delivery of what people want.

DeAugustine said Gazette is a “metric-driven organization.” He said they use these metrics to look at news coverage that makes the biggest impact on the communities they serve, and make improvements. He said the Enterprise and News coverage is “excellent” now.

Stories and coverage will still be driven by local editors, publishers and reporters, he added. Mostly, readers will see back-end changes to how they access content.

Gereau said he hopes the transition will be “seamless” for readers.