Schurz' TV station sale to Gray comes at tough time

It's been a turbulent few weeks for Schurz Communications, dealing with the death of two journalist employees and now a buyout of its broadcasting business.

On Aug. 26, reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward, two young journalists working for Schurz-owned WDBJ7, were shot and killed on live TV by a former colleague in Roanoke, Va. The suspect, Vester Flanagan, shot himself and later died.

"We are heartbroken at the tragic and senseless loss of reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward," Schurz CEO Todd Schurz wrote after the tragedy. "At the time of their murders, they were involved in the most important aspect of journalism–telling the stories important to their local communities."

The CBS affiliate station, airing in the Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va., region, is the number-one ranked and "highest grossing" station in the market, Schurz says. With the acquisition of WDBJ-TV, the deal will add a third Virginia market to Gray's portfolio.

In a market being quickly consolidated by publicly-traded companies, Schurz stood out in the TV business by being a family-controlled business that competed in mid-to-small markets.

Like many TV operators, Schurz started as a newspaper operator. Alfred B. Miller and Elmer Crockett founded the South Bend, Ind., Tribune. At the paper, still considered the company's flag-ship property, family members have held editor and publisher positions at the newspaper for five generations, the company says.

Its broadcasting business began in 1922 after Schurz launched WGAZ radio (now WSBT) in South Bend. Its first TV station, WSBT, began operating in 1952.

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