Today is the day that Meredith becomes nothing more than a footnote in the history of local television.

Months ago Gray Television agreed to buy up the Meredith stations and today that deal will be finalized and Gray will take control.

Meredith will cease to exist in the local TV world.

Meredith’s publishing side of the business is also being sold off to a New York conglomerate and with that sale, Meredith’s 120 year run as a company is over.

There was a time when Meredith was a good company to work for. But, as Meredith got weighed down by debt and started only focusing on the bottom line, it has been a rough ride for many Meredith employees.

Force non-paid days off and hundreds of layoffs stretched many of the Meredith stations very thin. The company pushed longtime talented Journalists out the door and either never replaced them, or did so with much cheaper hires.

Now, Gray grows its footprint in the local TV game as the company continues to be aggressive in Its pursuit of buying up stations.

Today is the day that the Gray era starts for the Meredith employees.