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''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
published in
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. Circulated throughout
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 on Sundays and $5 on
Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
; prices are higher outside Arizona.


History


Early years

The newspaper was founded May 19, 1890, under the name ''The Arizona Republican''. Dwight B. Heard, a Phoenix land and cattle baron, ran the newspaper from 1912 until his death in 1929. The paper was then run by two of its top executives, Charles Stauffer and W. Wesley Knorpp, until it was bought by Midwestern newspaper magnate
Eugene C. Pulliam Eugene Collins Pulliam (May 3, 1889 – June 23, 1975) was an American newspaper publisher and businessman who was the founder and president of Central Newspapers Inc., a media holding company. During his sixty-three years as a newspaper publish ...
in 1946. Stauffer and Knorpp had changed the newspaper's name to ''The Arizona Republic'' in 1930, and also had bought the rival ''Phoenix Evening Gazette'' and ''Phoenix Weekly Gazette'', later known, respectively, as ''
The Phoenix Gazette ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'' and the ''
Arizona Business Gazette Arizona Business Gazette is a business newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona owed by Gannett Company not to be confused with the Arizona Gazette which is owned by Cody Agency, LLC. The Arizona Business Gazette is a spin-off of ''The Arizona Republic ...
''.


Pulliam era

Pulliam, who bought the two ''Gazettes'' as well as the ''Republic'', ran all three newspapers until his death in 1975 at the age of 86. A strong period of growth came under Pulliam, who imprinted the newspaper with his conservative brand of politics and his drive for civic leadership. Pulliam was considered one of the influential business leaders who created the modern Phoenix area as it is known today. Pulliam's holding company, Central Newspapers, Inc., as led by Pulliam's widow and son, assumed operation of the Republic/Gazette family of papers upon the elder Pulliam's death. ''The Phoenix Gazette'' was closed in 1997 and its staff merged with that of the ''Republic''. The ''Arizona Business Gazette'' is still published to this day. In 1998, a weekly section geared towards
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
students, "
The Rep ''The Rep'' was a weekly entertainment guide, in tabloid format, published by ''The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest new ...
", went into circulation. Specialized content is also available in the local sections produced for many of the different cities and suburbs that make up the Phoenix metropolitan area.


Gannett purchase

Central Newspapers was purchased by Gannett in 2000, bringing it into common ownership with ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' and the local Phoenix
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television affiliate, KPNX. The ''Republic'' and KPNX combine their forces to produce their common local news subscription website, www.azcentral.com. Also in 2000, the Spanish-language publication ''
La Voz Media United States * '' La Voz Hispana de Virginia'', a magazine * ''La Voz de Houston'', a newspaper * ''La Voz'' (Phoenix), a newspaper * ''La Voz'', a publication in New York's Hudson Valley owned by Bard College Other media * ''La Vo ...
'' was founded. On September 25, 2015, Mi-Ai Parrish was named publisher and president of both the paper and its azcentral.com website, effective October 12.


Circulation

In 2013, ''The Arizona Republic'' dropped from the sixteenth largest daily newspaper in the United States to the twenty-first largest, by circulation. In 2020 it had a circulation of about 116,000 for its daily edition, and 337,000 for its Sunday edition.


Don Bolles murder

In 1976, an investigative reporter for the newspaper, Don Bolles, was the victim of a car bombing. He had been lured to a meeting in Phoenix in the course of work on a story about corruption in local politics and business and the bomb detonated as he started his car to leave. He died eleven days later. Retaliation against his pursuit of organized crime in Arizona is thought to be a motive in the murder.


Political endorsements

Historically, ''The Republic'' has tilted conservative editorially. It endorsed President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. On October 25, 2008, the paper endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for president. In local elections, it endorsed in recent years Democratic candidates such as former Arizona Governor, former Secretary of Homeland Security, and now President of the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...
; and former Arizona Congressman
Harry Mitchell Harry Everett Mitchell (born July 18, 1940) is an American politician and educator who served as a U.S. Representative representing from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Early life, education and career Born and raise ...
. On September 27, 2016, the paper endorsed
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
for the 2016 presidential election, marking the first time in the paper's 126-year history that it had endorsed a Democratic candidate for president. Previously, the paper had only withheld its endorsement from a Republican nominee/candidate twice in its history. During the unusual sequence of events that led up to the 1912 presidential election the paper had opted not to endorse the "formal" Republican party nominee for that election cycle. This was shortly after
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
had lost the Republican convention nomination to
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
in the controversial, and allegedly rigged, party convention of that year. After Roosevelt's convention loss, and also after the hasty formation of the "made to order"
Bull Moose Party The Progressive Party was a third party in the United States formed in 1912 by former president Theodore Roosevelt after he lost the presidential nomination of the Republican Party to his former protégé rival, incumbent president William ...
, the paper continued to endorse Roosevelt via the newly formed party. As a result of Roosevelt's insistence on an independent presidential bid that year, the Republican Party of 1912 was in disarray, yielding that year's presidential election to the Democrats, with the GOP only able to carry a total of eight electoral votes that year. Two of the main planks of Roosevelt's progressive Bull Moose platform had been campaign finance reform and improved governmental accountability. In the 1968 presidential election, the paper declined to endorse either
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
or
Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
, asserting that "all candidates are good candidates." In the paper's 2016 editorial decision to take the further step of actually endorsing a Democratic candidate for the first time, the paper argued that despite Clinton's flaws, it could not support Republican nominee
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, denouncing him as "not conservative" and "not qualified." The board also argued that Trump had "deep character flaws.... (and) ... stunning lack of human decency, empathy and respect," suggesting that it was evidence he "doesn't grasp our national ideals." The paper also noted its concern regarding whether or not Trump would possess the necessary restraint needed for someone with access to nuclear weapons, stating, "The president commands our nuclear arsenal. Trump can't command his own rhetoric.""Endorsement: Hillary Clinton is the only choice..."
''Arizona Republic''. September 27, 2016. By The Editorial Board. Downloaded April 27, 2016.
On February 26, 2020, ''The Arizona Republic'' announced that it would no longer endorse candidates for public office.


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arizona Republic, The 1890 establishments in Arizona Territory Daily newspapers published in the United States Gannett publications Mass media in Phoenix, Arizona Newspapers published in Arizona Newspapers established in 1890 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners