Cox Enterprises will sell its three daily newspapers and 10 weeklies in eastern North Carolina to a company controlled by John Kent Cooke, a former owner of the Washington Redskins.
The deal includes The Daily Reflector in Greenville, Rocky Mount Telegram and The Daily Advance in Elizabeth City. It also includes weeklies in Snow Hill, Williamston, Windsor and elsewhere.
Cox, the Atlanta-based media conglomerate that owns cable-TV, radio and other holdings, announced last year it planned to sell its papers in North Carolina amid a sharp decline in revenue across the media industry.
Cooke's eldest son John Kent Cooke Jr., will move to the Greenville area to become president of Cooke Communications North Carolina and publisher of The Daily Reflector.
Cooke Communications expects to keep "virtually all employees" at the North Carolina papers.
Cooke previously was a part owner of the Washington Redskins football team, The Los Angeles Daily News and the Chrysler Building in New York.
