Over time, The Beacon's publishers acquired other weeklies in neighboring towns, including titles as far east as Lexington and Burlington.
[2] The sale also tied Beacon to independent mid-sized dailies, the Telegram and Evening Gazette, in an industry rapidly consolidating.
Peter E. Thieriot, Chronicle's local publisher, said "I have expressed my hope and desire that Beacon grow both internally and through acquisition.
"[4] In the Chronicle years, however, Beacon's corporate ownership usually had its hands full with its Worcester property—turning two commonly owned but competing newsrooms into one staff, and finally shuttering an evening newspaper to concentrate on a combined morning edition.
When News-Transcript Group was bought in 1995, Beacon's Enterprise-Sun initially seemed set to continue competing—not very successfully—with the Middlesex News, which had a bureau in Marlborough.