A rep firm with roots in the radio days has called it quits after more than 80 years. TVNewsCheck reports that Petry Media told staffers Tuesday it was shutting its doors.
The company, which has been in business since the 1930s, is owned by the investment firm Patriarch Partners LLC.
“The news came as no surprise to the industry, with many people saying they were surprised Petry lasted as long as it did,” the story reports. “Things started coming apart for Petry in 2008. As the economy began its big downturn, Petry started shedding clients at an alarming rate. The big blow came in April 2008 when Gannett, then its largest client, defected to CoxReps.”
The company merged its two operating units, Petry Television and Blair, into a single unit in 2009, retaining the Petry name. But the company lost another big client, LIN Media, in 2013, on the heels of a move by Journal Broadcast Group to Katz Television, the report notes.
Hubbard, which had been with Petry since 1932, left near the end of 2013.
Petry was a terrible, rotten company. Good riddance.