The ''Herald & Review'' is a daily newspaper based in

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. It is owned by

Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 72 daily newspapers in 25 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...

. The Herald & Review was named one of Editor & Publisher's "10 Newspapers That Do It Right" in 2019 for its use of government documents and public records to create substantive journalism. In 2018, the Herald & Review was recognized by Editor & Publisher for digital growth and other initiatives. It also received top honors in the investigative reporting and public service categories in the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors 2017 newspaper contest. The Herald & Review in August 2017 was one of 10 newsrooms chosen from across the country to receive a grant for watchdog training through Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening investigative journalism. The Herald & Review also founded the Herald & Review 100, an auto race held annually at Macon Speedway, in

Macon, Illinois Macon is a city in Macon County, Illinois, United States whose population was 1,177 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies south of Decatur. History The city was named after Nathani ...

History

The Rev. Alfred F. Wuensch founded the ''Decatur Review'' as a weekly newspaper in April 1872. C.N. Walls founded the ''Daily Herald'' in 1878. In 1931, the morning ''Herald'', by this time owned by the Lindsay family, and the evening, daily, ''Decatur Daily Review'', owned by the Schaub family, merged their operations. Both newspapers continued to publish separately while maintaining largely separate editorial staffs. The Lindsay-Schaub combine acquired other newspapers, including ''

The Southern Illinoisan ''The Southern Illinoisan'' is a daily newspaper and multimedia news platform based in Carbondale, Illinois, known locally as "The Southern." It is one of the major regional newspaper and media services for southern Illinois. The most recent e ...

'', the '' Champaign-Urbana Courier'', the ''

Edwardsville Intelligencer The ''Edwardsville Intelligencer'' is an American daily newspaper in Illinois based in Edwardsville. The paper is circulated in Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and nearby rural areas. History The newspaper was founded as the ''Madison Intellig ...

'', the ''

Metro-East Journal The ''Metro-East Journal'' was a newspaper published in East St. Louis, Illinois, from 1888 to 1979. History The newspaper was founded as the ''East St. Louis Journal'' in 1888. The paper's name was changed to the ''St. Clair and Madison Counties ...

'' and the ''

Midland Daily News The ''Midland Daily News'' is a daily newspaper which serves Midland County, Michigan. The offices for the paper are located at 219 East Main Street in downtown Midland; the paper is widely circulated around Midland County. The newspaper also ...

'', as well as Decatur radio station WSOY. On July 13, 1937, 17 of the paper's editorial employees walked out and went on strike, forcing suspension of the paper, Decatur's only daily newspaper at the time. The newspaper began operating at 601 E. William St. in 1976 and continued until 2022, when headquarters. moved to 225 S. Main St. in the heart of downtown Decatur. In 1979,

purchased most of the Lindsay-Schaub papers, including the ''Herald'' and ''Daily Review''. The papers were renamed the ''Herald & Review'' and continued to publish morning and evening editions. In June 1982, the evening edition was discontinued.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy, debt discharge and bailout reorganization (2011)

The ownership company,

filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011. It emerged from bankruptcy less than two months later. In April 2012,

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is ...

took a stake in Lee Enterprises (through Berkshire Hathaway Inc.), buying $85 million of the company's debt from

Goldman Sachs Group The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many international ...

. In June 2012, Berkshire Hathaway filed an amended

Form 13F Form 13F is a quarterly report filed, per United States Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, The document noted that the confidentiality of this transaction was requested but denied by the SEC on May 25, 2012.

Debt recapitalization (2013–14) following bankruptcy and bailout

In April 2013, Lee Enterprises announced that Berkshire Hathaway refinanced the remaining

Pulitzer Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pro ...

acquisition debt equating to $94 million. Lee Enterprises incurred no cost for doing this. The collateral involved was the TNI Partner stake including the ''

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tucson, Arizona, and owned by Lee Enterprises. It serves Tucson and surrounding districts of Southern Arizona in the United States. History 1877–1925 L. C. Hughes was the ...

'' and ''azstarnet.com''. The result of this was a reduction in interest from a

variable rate A floating interest rate, also known as a variable or adjustable rate, refers to any type of debt instrument, such as a loan, bond, mortgage, or credit, that does not have a fixed rate of interest over the life of the instrument. Floating inte ...

of 11.3% to a fixed rate of 9% while at the same time extending the debt maturity date of the debt from December 2015 to April 2017. At the time of the announcement Lee Enterprises noted they had $893 million left to pay off. Lee paid off and retired its New Pulitzer notes in June 2015, 6 months before the original maturity date and 22 months before the new maturity date. Lee also refinanced its remaining debt in 2014 in order to extend the maturities from 2015 and 2017 to 2019 and 2022. Lee retired its 1st Lien Term Loan in November 2018, four months before its scheduled March 2019 maturity. On June 27, 2018, Lee Enterprises and Berkshire Hathaway reached a five-year agreement to allow Lee Enterprises to manage Berkshire Hathaway's newspaper and digital operations.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herald And Review 1872 establishments in Illinois Companies based in Macon County, Illinois Daily newspapers published in the United States Decatur, Illinois Lee Enterprises publications Newspapers published in Illinois Newspapers established in 1872