The Tribune was locally and family owned by Schurz Communications, based in Mishawaka, for more than 146 years: from its founding in 1872 until 2019. Five generations of the same family had owned and operated the newspaper. The Tribune was sold to GateHouse Media on Feb. 1, 2019. In November 2019, GateHouse Media completed purchase of the Gannett newspaper chain, and the two combined newspaper chains adopted the Gannett name. Thus, on Nov. 19, 2019, the South Bend Tribune became a Gannett newspaper.