Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Salango says he's divesting from the parent company of The Charleston Gazette-Mail ahead of the 2020 election.
Salango told the newspaper on Tuesday that he is in the process of selling his shares of HD Media, which owns the Gazette-Mail, The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington and other newspapers in West Virginia.
The move comes after the state Republican party called for the news outlets to disclose Salango's stake in stories about the candidate. The Gazette-Mail story about Salango entering the race last week included a sentence about his investment in HD Media.
Salango says owning part of the company as he runs for governor wouldn't be fair to its journalists, the public or other candidates. He owns less than 5% of HD Media.
