Sound Publishing Inc. has announced the sale of the weekly Pacific County Press based in South Bend to Flannery Publications, the Raymond-based company that owns the Willapa Harbor Herald. The sale was effective July 1.

Flannery Corporate Publisher Pat Myers said the Press and the Herald would be merged. He plans to retain the “essence” of both papers by publishing each as separate sections, the Press appearing as an inside section of the Herald, he said. Myers’ wife Alisa will be publisher of both publications.

The Herald’s roots on Willapa Harbor go back to 1870, Myers said. The Press, based in South Bend, was started in 1994. In 2017, it was sold to Everett-based Sound Publishing, which also owns The Vidette, The Daily World in Aberdeen, the South Beach Bulletin in Westport and the North Coast News in Ocean Shores.

“I think the sale will be good for both parties,” said Mike Hrycko, publisher for Sound Publishing’s Grays Harbor Newspaper Group. “Combining the Pacific County papers will be good for readers and advertisers in that area, and it will allow us to focus on our core areas in Grays Harbor. Sound will be printing both papers and partnering with them on some regional and national advertising sales and that’s good for everyone.”

“Both of these newspapers have occupied their own niche in this market,” Pat Myers said. “What I’m planning to do is retain the essence of each of these newspapers, and the way I’m going to do that is to run two sections, one for the Herald and one for the Press.”

Myers said they will strive to eliminate duplication and cover more ground in the community.