The sale of the Whitman County Gazette was finalized for an undisclosed amount Friday

Announcement of the sale was made today by buyer Gordon Forgey, editor and publisher of the Gazette, and seller, A.L. Alford Jr., president and owner of TPC Holdings Inc. Alford also owns the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and the Lewiston Morning Tribune.

The sale included the Daily Bulletin of Colfax, which is published four times a week.

Forgey said he negotiated the sale with Alford in order to keep the Gazette local.

"The Tribune organization has been a good steward of the Gazette, but this change will bring ownership of the Gazette back into the county where it belongs," Forgey said. "In the changing economies of the region, the purchase of the Gazette will help to tie it inextricably to the area it serves."

The Gazette, a 4,200 circulation paper with subscriptions largely in Whitman County communities, began publication in 1877. The Gazette is Washington state's oldest continuously published newspaper.

"The opportunity for the Gazette to be wholly owned in Colfax is a logical extension of our ownership mission. Forgey and staff have crafted the Gazette into one of the best newspaper products in Washington state," Alford said.

If Forgey decides to sell the Gazette in the future, TPC will have the first opportunity to repurchase.

Alford also announced the Sparks Tribune and Big Nickel, a shopper publication in northern Nevada, have been sold to Sparks Tribune LLC, effective Friday. Alford is a co-owner of the new corporation.