Freedom Communications, Inc.

Overview

Freedom Communications, Inc. was an American media company headquartered in Santa Ana and later Irvine, California, whose flagship title was The Orange County Register. The company no longer operates as an active media business.

Portfolio (historical)

• The Orange County Register
• The Riverside Press-Enterprise
• At its peak (2003), approximately 25 newspapers and 8 television stations

Ownership

Freedom Communications was organized in 1950 by Raymond C. Hoiles and controlled by his descendants for nearly 60 years. The Hoiles family lost control of the company following its first Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009; ownership passed to investment firms including Alden Global Capital, Angelo, Gordon & Co., and Luxor Capital Group. Following a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015–2016, Freedom Communications' remaining newspaper assets — the Register and the Press-Enterprise — were sold to Digital First Media in March 2016. The company's television division had already been sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2012.

History

Founded in 1950 in Santa Ana, California, by Raymond C. Hoiles.