KM Group
 |
|
| Industry | Media |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1890 |
| Founder | Barham Pratt Boorman |
| Headquarters | Larkfield, Kent, England |
|
Number of locations
|
See "Offices", below |
|
Area served
|
Kent |
|
Key people
|
Geraldine Allinson; Chairman, Richard Elliot; MD, |
| Products | Newspapers, Radio Stations, Broadcasting, Websites |
| Divisions | KM Newspapers KMFM Kent Business Headline Travel |
| Website | www |
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent. The company operates local newspapers, radio stations and internet sites throughout the county.
The KM Group can trace its roots back to 1859, when the Maidstone Telegraph (now the Kent Messenger) was first published in Kent's county town of Maidstone. The newspaper was taken over by Barham Pratt Boorman in 1890, after its owners, the Masters brothers, were jailed and were forced to sell up. Boorman had already started his own newspapers in Ashford.
Barham was succeeded by his son, Henry Pratt Boorman, in the late 1920s. Known as The Guv'nor, he was an enthusiast for photography, and pioneered extensive use of pictures in his paper. He realised that people would be keen to buy the paper if it included their picture or pictures of their own towns and villages.
Henry's son Edwin joined the firm in the late 1950s and was managing director from 1962 until 1986. That was when his father stepped down as chairman and became President of what had developed into the Kent Messenger Group. Edwin took the Chair and remained at the helm until the end of 2005 when he was succeeded by his oldest daughter, Geraldine Allinson.
The firm moved from its original editorial offices and printing plant close to Maidstone East Station in the early 1970s following a fire. The new location is about five miles west of Maidstone, at Messenger House, in New Hythe Lane, Larkfield. During Edwin's Chairmanship the company expanded, acquiring other newspapers across Kent, diversifying into local radio and developing a web presence at www.kentonline.co.uk.
The company rebranded itself to the KM Group in 2008. It cut 61 jobs in 2008 due to advertising revenue dropping by 25–30%. Further proposed job losses were announced in February 2009.
In July 2011, it was announced that Northcliffe Media intended to sell nine of its titles to the KM Group. The newspapers involved include the Dover Express, East Kent Gazette, Folkestone Herald, Herne Bay and Whitstable Times, Isle of Thanet Gazette, Medway News and Thanet Times. KM Group referred the matter of the acquisition of the titles to the Office of Fair Trading.
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Wikipedia