Press Banner owners buy Chino papers

Tank Town Media, the family of newspapers that includes the Press Banner, grew this week with the addition of the Chino Champion and Chino Hills Champion newspapers in Southern California.
Will Fleet and Ralph Alldredge, owners of Tank Town Media, announced on Jan. 24 the acquisition of the 129-year-old weekly from Allen P. McCombs, who owned it for 60 years, and his partner Bruce Wood, who was named co-publisher in 2000 and took over as publisher in 2006.
“We will maintain the same high standard of journalism and community involvement that Al and Bruce held,” Fleet said. “The Champion is a great paper that reflects the people of Chino and Chino Hills.”
McCombs and Wood offered a joint statement in a news release: “Both Will Fleet and Ralph Alldredge have a long history of operating community newspapers, and are doing so now in Northern California. We have faith that they will continue the Champion newspapers as a vital part of local life.”
The Champion distributes more than 40,000 newspapers every week.
Fleet (2005-06) and Alldredge (2011-12) have each served as president of the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Fleet remains on the board of CNPA, which includes nearly all California newspapers as members. Alldredge is a member of the California Bar and has been a newspaper owner for the past 19 years.
The change in ownership of The Chino Champion is effective Feb. 1.
In addition to Chino and the Press Banner, Tank Town Media also publishes the Tracy (Ca.) Press and the Patterson (Ca.) Irrigator.