The Dispatch-Argus newspaper is set to be sold to the owners of the Quad-City Times at the end of the month.

Davenport-based Lee Enterprises announced Monday it’s reached an agreement to purchase the publication from the Small Newspaper Group.

It’s a deal worth a little more than $7 million.

While plans to consolidate have not been announced yet, some are worried that they aren’t very far away.

Communications professor Alan Sivell has been at St. Ambrose university since the late 1980s. In that time, he has seen numerous publications in the Quad Cities undergo drastic changes.

“I’m not a fan of consolidation,” Sivell said. “I’m a big fan of newspapers. I get a daily newspaper, I get two daily newspapers, I’d get 3 or 4 if i could. I think the more voices you have, the better decisions you can come to.”

Small Newspaper Group acquired the Rock Island Argus in 1986. With Lee Enterprises’ acquisition of the Dispatch-Argus, Sivell is concerned about its future.

“I do worry about the fact that we only have one voice, Sivell said. “On the other hand, if the Times is willing to expand its news coverage and add some reporters, whereas the other side was decreasing, maybe it will help.”

In a memo obtained by Local 4 News, a Lee Enterprises official says they plan on keeping a “sizable” amount of current Dispatch-Argus employees.

Sivell says keeping as many employees as possible is an important investment.

“If newspapers like Lee invest in reporters, invest in fresh stories and new information you can’t get anywhere else, people are going to want to go to the paper, go to their site online, and get it,” he said.

Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst at media think tank and training center Poynter Institute, said he expects cuts.

“These companies tend to operate the newsrooms on a pretty tightly staffed basis too, so that would be my guess; that there would be some loss of jobs and perhaps loss of reporting power,” Edmonds said.

One thing Sivell hopes will come out of the change is better newspaper coverage in the area.

“I live in the Quad Cities, not just Davenport,” he said. “I want to know what’s going on on the other side of the river. So, I’m hoping there’s expanded news coverage.”

According to the press release, current Quad-City Times publisher Debbie Anselm will take over publishing duties for the Dispatch-Argus as well. The sale is set to go through at the end of the month.

— Redrick Terry