• by Ray Schultz , September 21, 2022

CherryRoad Media, the firm that has been busily buying up Gannett properties, has taken a six-figure financial hit at one of the papers—due to alleged embezzlement. 

The Independence (Missouri) Examiner was robbed of $428,470, according to a report in The Kansas City Star.  

The Examiner’s former business manager, Deneane M. Hyde was charged with one felony count of stealing over $25,000, the Star reports. 

Prosecutors allege that Hyde put that money into her own account between 2018 and 2021, the Star continues..  

The Examiner noticed that the funds were missing after the transfer of the company to CherryRoad Media. CherryRoad acquired the Examiner and 19 other Midwestern newspapers from Gannett in September 2021.  

Earlier this month, CherryRoad announced it was acquiring four Massachusetts newspaper from Gannett that were slated for closure: The Landmark, The Leominster Champion, The Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and The Grafton News. CherryRoad Media would then own 71 newspapers in 12 states.