Feb. 7—ANDERSON — A New Jersey company has taken over the operations of Elwood Publishing Co. effective immediately.

CherryRoad Media has assumed operations Tuesday of the company that publishes the daily Elwood Call Leader and Tipton County Tribune and the weekly Alexandria Times-Tribune.

CherryRoad Media was founded in 1983 and currently owns 74 newspapers in 15 states around the country. The purchase is its first in Indiana.

Last week Brian Barnes, owner of Elwood Publishing, announced it was ceasing operations immediately.

Employees of Elwood Publishing have been offered to continue their employment under the new ownership.

"I am very excited today for the Elwood, Tipton and Alexandria communities," Barnes said in a story in the Elwood Call Leader. "You all are in good hands with CherryRoad Media.

"They are committed to the future of community journalism in small towns across the country."

Jeremy Gulban, CEO and publisher of CherryRoad Media, in a statement thanked the Barnes family for keeping the publications operating in recent years.

"We are excited to be able to step in here to save these newspapers," he said.

"We look forward to getting to know these communities and working to put these newspapers in a position to be successful in the future. This all came together very quickly so we ask for everyone's patience as we work through this process."

The Elwood Call Leader was founded in 1894, and the Barnes family owned it for the past 83 years. The Alexandria Times-Tribune was formed in 1903 when the Alexandria Tribune and Alexandria Times merged.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.