newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 p ...
based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''
The Columbus Citizen-Journal
''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' was a daily morning newspaper in Columbus, Ohio published by the Scripps Howard company. It was formed in 1959 by the merger of ''The Columbus Citizen'' and ''The Ohio State Journal''. It shared printing facilit ...
'' ceased publication in 1985.
As of November 2019, Alan D. Miller is the newspaper's interim general manager.
History
The paper was founded in June 1871 by a group of 10 printers with 900 in
financial capital
Financial capital (also simply known as capital or equity in finance, accounting and economics) is any economic resource measured in terms of money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or to provi ...
. The paper published its first issue as ''The Daily Dispatch'' on July 1, 1871, as a four-page paper which cost 4¢ (¢ in ) per copy. The paper was originally an afternoon paper for the city of Columbus, Ohio, which at the time had a population of 32,000. For its first few years, the paper rented a headquarters on North High Street and Lynn Alley in Columbus. It began with 800 subscribers.
On April 2, 1888, the paper published its first full-page advertisement, for the Columbus Buggy Company. In 1895, the paper moved its headquarters to the northeast corner of Gay and High streets, a larger building on a site which was previously a grocer. On April 10, the paper published a 72-page edition to mark the move. On December 17, 1899, the paper published its first Sunday edition, a 36-page paper which cost 3¢ (¢ in ), and the daily editions were reduced in price to 2¢ (¢ in ). Two years later on March 3, 1901, the paper published its first color comic strips.
The paper, renamed ''The Columbus Evening Dispatch'', changed hands several times in its early years. In 1905, it was purchased by brothers Harry Preston Wolfe and Robert Frederick Wolfe, who originally ran a shoe company. It was not the Wolfes' first entry into journalism; they had purchased the ''
Ohio State Journal
''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' was a daily morning newspaper in Columbus, Ohio published by the Scripps Howard company. It was formed in 1959 by the merger of ''The Columbus Citizen'' and ''The Ohio State Journal''. It shared printing facilit ...
'' two years before. The ''Dispatch'' would remain in the hands of the Wolfe family for 110 years. On December 16, 1906, the paper published its first color ad, for Beggs Store. On April 9, 1907, the ''Dispatch'' offices were destroyed in a fire, and the building was demolished and rebuilt. In the interlude, the paper ran its offices out of 34/36 North High Street.
The paper's editorial staff traditionally has had a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Brandweek
''Brandweek'' is a three-day brand marketing symposium and a part of Adweek, LLC. It was also previously a weekly American marketing trade publication that was published between 1986 and April 2011.
Profile
Brandweek is a part of Adweek, coverin ...
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''Athens News'' was an English-language newspaper published in Greece. The paper had regular sections covering aspects of Greek news such as politics, social issues, business, arts & entertainment and sports, as well as international news. Featur ...
'', January 10, 2005 Until it endorsed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, the paper's last Political endorsement, endorsement of a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat as a President of the United States, Presidential candidate had been for the re-election of
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
'', October 26, 2004 The ''Dispatch'' endorsed Democratic
gubernatorial
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
candidate
Ted Strickland
Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who was the 68th governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ...
in the 2006 Ohio elections,"For governor: Strickland has qualities needed to promote cooperation, progress" ''Columbus Dispatch'', Sunday, October 8, 2006 but endorsed
John Kasich
John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...
, the Republican candidate running against his reelection, in 2010"Endorsement: Kasich for governor" ''Columbus Dispatch'', Monday October 11, 2010.
A competing paper, ''
The Columbus Citizen-Journal
''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' was a daily morning newspaper in Columbus, Ohio published by the Scripps Howard company. It was formed in 1959 by the merger of ''The Columbus Citizen'' and ''The Ohio State Journal''. It shared printing facilit ...
'' (known locally as the "C-J", pronounced "See-Jay") was beholden to the ''Columbus Dispatch'' for its printing facilities, and controversy surrounded the C-J's demise in 1985.
In a sale announced on June 3, 2015, ownership of the ''Dispatch'' was transferred to GateHouse Media. The
Dispatch Broadcast Group
The Dispatch Broadcast Group was a media company based in Columbus, Ohio. The group was a division of the Dispatch Printing Company, former owner of the ''Columbus Dispatch'', and was owned by the Wolfe family since 1929 until its sale to Tegn ...
, comprising
WBNS-AM
WBNS (1460 kHz) — branded 1460 ESPN Columbus — is a commercial AM radio station in Columbus, Ohio. The station currently broadcasts a sports talk format and carries ESPN Radio programming. It is owned by Tegna Inc., along with WBNS-FM (97. ...
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 ...
WTHR
WTHR (channel 13) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power, Class A MeTV affiliate WALV-CD (channel 46). Both stations share studios on North Meridian ...
(channel 13) in Indianapolis, remained in the hands of the Wolfe family until 2019, when it was sold to
Tegna, Inc.
Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into t ...
, which promptly absorbed the firm.
On June 16, 2015, the ''Dispatch'' was purchased by the
New Media Investment Group
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. GateHouse Media.
Sections and features
The sections of the ''Dispatch'' include the Front Section, Nation & World, Metro & State, Business, Sports and Life & Arts. The Food section is included in the Wednesday paper, while Science is published on Sundays. The Weekender section is included in the Thursday paper. A Faith & Values section is included in the Friday paper. Sunday sections include Arts & Leisure, At Home, Insight and comics.
Magazines
''The Columbus Dispatch'' also owns the magazines ''
Columbus Monthly
''Columbus Monthly'' is a magazine that has been an important and influential voice in Central Ohio. The magazine which was created in June 1975 has a well-earned reputation for tweaking the local establishment, challenging the monopoly daily on ...
Columbus Alive
''Columbus Alive'' (also presented as ''ALIVE''), was a free online news site serving Columbus, Ohio. The site focused on local music, art, dining, film and culture. Formerly distributed in print form each week on Thursdays, the final print ver ...
'', and ''Columbus Parent''.
See also
*
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...