Battle Born Media acquires Sparks Tribune

Battle Born Media has acquired the Sparks Tribune to add to its portfolio of newspapers in the state.

Battle Born bought the historic newspaper, which dates back more than a century, from Sparks Tribune LLC, owned by Randy Frisch, Dominic Welch and A.L. Alford Jr.

The transaction is effectively immediately. Terms were not disclosed.

The purchase gives Battle Born, owned by longtime Nevadans Sherman Frederick and Tim Dahlberg, six newspapers in the state.

“We’re especially excited about acquiring the Tribune, which has served as the local news source for many generations in Sparks,’’ Frederick said. “We know the people of Sparks are involved in their community and interested in local news and sports. We have a lot of plans to make the paper better and more relevant, both in print and with a robust online presence.’’

Battle Born has named veteran Nevada journalist Kent Lauer to lead coverage as publisher and editor of the weekly newspaper. Lauer worked as a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal early in his career and later became executive director of the Nevada Press Association.

The purchase is a homecoming of sorts for Dahlberg, a national sports columnist for The Associated Press who got his start in the newspaper business at the Tribune in the 1970s. Dahlberg was the sports editor and photographer for the paper for three years.

Frederick is a longtime Nevada journalist and the former president of Stephens Media, which operated the Review Journal and other newspapers. He is a member of the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame.

In addition to Sparks, Battle Born Media owns and operates the Ely Times, Mineral County Independent-News, Lincoln County Record, Eureka Sentinel and Mesquite Local News.