RUST BUYS 2 DAILIES, 5 WEEKLIES FROM PAXTON

Rust Communications of Cape Girardeau has agreed to acquire two daily newspapers and five weekly newspapers from Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Ky.

The daily newspapers are the State Gazette in Dyersburg, Tenn., and The Brazil Times in Brazil, Ind. The weekly newspapers are The News in Salem, Ark., The South Missourian News in Thayer, Mo., and three shoppers serving Fulton, Izard and Sharp counties in Arkansas and Oregon County in Missouri.

Gary Rust, president of Rust Communications, said, "This is a mutually beneficial transaction between two growing, family-owned newspaper groups."

"These are good newspapers serving good communities, but they represent a better fit for Rust Communications than for Paxton Media Group," said David Paxton, president of Paxton Media. "We are confident these newspapers and the employees of the newspapers will continue to thrive under the new ownership."

Dyersburg is near Blytheville, Ark., where Rust Communications owns the Courier-News, a daily newspaper, and three weeklies through its subsidiary, Village News Inc. The State Gazette in Dyersburg will be managed by Wally Lage, chief operating officer of Rust Communications, and associate publishers Chris Rimel and Shelia Rouse.

Brazil is approximately 20 miles from Greencastle, Ind., where Rust Communications owns the Banner-Graphic, a daily newspaper. Both papers will be managed by Randy List, currently publisher in Greencastle.

The five weekly newspapers in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri will be managed by Ron Kemp, currently publisher of nine other weekly newspapers in the Rust Communications group.

After the latest purchases take effect Dec. 31, Rust Communications will own 13 daily newspapers and 33 weekly newspapers.