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Columbia Daily Tribune

Sep. 13--A Chicago broadcast company with Columbia ties has put an offer on the table to buy Jefferson City CBS affiliate KRCG-TV.

Barrington Broadcasting Co., which extended the offer unsolicited, includes a number of employees from now-defunct Benedek Broadcasting Corp. Benedek owned local ABC affiliate KMIZ-TV from 1996 to 2002. The company merged with Atlanta-based Gray Communication Systems Inc. in 2002 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Jim Yager, chief executive officer of Barrington, was president and chief operating officer of Benedek when the company owned KMIZ. Yager was not available for comment this morning.

"The company expressed an interest in the station and made a tentative offer," Station Manager Lee Gordon said. "The owners are exploring it."

Although the station wasn't formally up for sale, Barrington extended an offer last month and is now in the due diligence process, said Betsy Farris, KRCG vice president and general manager. The 45-day due diligence period gives Barrington a chance to examine the station and its operations and make a firm offer.

Mel Wheeler Inc. has owned KRCG since November 1988. The company also owns an ABC affiliate in Harrisburg, Ill., and six radio stations in Virginia.

The Wheeler family is considering Barrington's offer, Farris said, and will make a decision in late September after the due diligence period is over. The Federal Communications Commission would have to approve any broadcast license transfers between Wheeler and Barrington.

This year, Barrington bought two other stations, including KHQA, a CBS affiliate serving Hannibal and Quincy, Ill. Barrington bought KHQA from Chelsey Broadcasting Corp., a company made up of many of Benedek's former investors.

A New York-based media investment bank, Barker Capital, advised Barrington on the purchase and praised Yager's strong leadership.

"Barrington currently has the managerial and financial resources necessary to become a leading operator of television stations," the bank said in a January 2004 statement.

KRCG has been on the air since 1955. In recent years the station has ranked closely with NBC affiliate KOMU in market share, with KMIZ trailing behind.

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