It’s the end of the road for
libertarian R.C. Hoiles’ modest media empire. Freedom
Communications Inc. announced
this morning the sale of all that remains of its company (seven
daily newspapers, including its flagship, The Orange County
Register) to 2100 Trust LLC, a company founded in 2009 that
had been trying to break in to the mass media business.

Previously, after navigating through a debt-fueled bankruptcy
restructuring, Freedom Communications sold off all its television
stations and newspapers in the
Midwest, Texas,
North Carolina, and Florida. The properties sold today, held in
California, Arizona and Colorado, will conclude the dismantling of
the former family-owned company, founded in the 1930s. At its
height, the company owned more than 100 daily, weekly and specialty
newspapers.

The seven papers that remain in Freedom Communications mark 2100
Trust’s entry into media ownership.  CEO Aaron Kushner had
previously
attempted to buy The Boston Globe in 2011 for $200
million, as well as newspapers in Maine, without success.

Not a lot is known about
Kushner’s politics; he has donated to candidates in both
parties. Given his lack of history in the media (prior to founding
2100 Trust he ran a greeting card company), there’s no way of
knowing whether he will attempt to assert any influence on his
papers’ editorial views. All current employees of the properties
will keep their jobs, according to a Freedom Communications
release.

For those interested in how the libertarian Hoiles family lost
control of the company, Orange County Register Interim
Publisher Ken Brusic narrates
a short video describing the company’s past and the family’s
squabbles.