The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
, area. At 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of
Gannett. The paper's production facility is in the town of
Greece, New York
Greece is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. A suburb of Rochester, New York, it is the largest town by population in Monroe County, and the second-largest municipality by population in the county, behind only the City of Rochester ...
. Since the
''Times-Union'' merger in 1997, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is Rochester's only daily circulated newspaper.
History
Founded in 1833 as ''The Balance'', the paper eventually became known as the ''Daily Democrat''.
The ''Daily Democrat'' merged with another local paper, the ''Chronicle'', in 1870, to become known as the ''Democrat and Chronicle''. The paper was purchased by
Gannett in 1928.
In 1997 Gannett merged the evening sister paper the
Rochester Times-Union
The ''Times-Union'' was a daily evening newspaper in the greater Rochester, New York, area for 79 years. It was published as an afternoon daily counterpart to the morning '' Democrat and Chronicle'' under the ownership of Gannett when it ceased o ...
into the Democrat and Chronicle, the two merged staffs in 1992 and had shared the same building since 1959 when the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' moved from a location at 59–61 East Main Street on the Main Street Bridge where they had been since 1923.
From 1928 to 1985, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' was Gannett's flagship paper, and Gannett's corporate headquarters were in the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' building. Gannett moved its headquarters to
Tysons Corner, Virginia
Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between the c ...
; home of
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, Virgi ...
, in 1985. The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' who moved into the building in 1959 continued to occupy the historic
Gannett Building
Gannett Building is a historic industrial and commercial building located in Rochester in Monroe County, New York. It is a Classical Revival style structure constructed in 1927, with four major later additions. It was built to house the consolida ...
at 55 Exchange Boulevard until moving to a new smaller building at the
Midtown Plaza site on East Main Street in May 2016.
![D&C Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/D%26C_Building.jpg)
At 153,350 square feet, the former headquarters in the Gannett building was considerably larger than the current headquarters, which is 42,000 square feet. The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' no longer needed the much larger space in the new digital age where newsprint in the United States is on the decline and the building which included the space that formerly held the printing presses prior to 1996 was expensive to maintain.
With the move came new branding as ''D&C Digital'', emphasizing focus on the outlet's
digital marketing
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development d ...
services and video properties.
In 2010, The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' ranked number one among US newspapers in market penetration, the percentage of readers in a metro area who read in print or online. The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' held that top spot for several years, and have been among the leaders since the 1990s.
The ''Democrat and Chronicle'', along with its parent company
Gannett, was sued in October 2019 by a former paperboy who accused the newspaper of enabling a former district manager to sexually abuse him in the 1980s. In late 2018 this former paperboy emailed investigative reporters and Gannett management asking them to investigate his claims. Karen Magnuson, then Executive Editor for Gannett's Democrat & Chronicle, told reporters to put their investigative reporting of abuse claims on "pause", and brought the email to the attention of Gannett’s management to conduct their own investigation. Gannett COO Michael G. Kane then sent the original claimant a letter indicating no evidence had been found and they were "closing out" the matter. Shortly after New York passed its Child Victim Act lifting statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims. This initial case is currently pending. Four more lawsuits were filed in early 2020. Additionally, three more men filed suit against Gannett for child sex abuse in September 2020. As the New York state window to file under its Childs Victim Act closed in August 2021, a ninth man sued the Democrat and Chronicle, and its publisher Gannett, in Rochester NY alleging child sex abuse by the same former district manager of paper boys. In July 2022, Gannett defense attorneys notified the court of their intent to file a motion to have the former paperboy's Child Victims Act cases taken "out of the state court system and turn them over to the New York Workers’ Compensation Board" stating that the 11-14 year old paperboys should have applied for workman's compensation at the time of their injuries in the 1980s as it is a "simple online process". All these cases are currently pending in New York State court.
Notable contributors
*
Earl Caldwell
*
Henry W. Clune
Henry W. Clune (February 8, 1890 – October 9, 1995) was an American writer. A well-known journalist for the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' newspaper in Rochester, New York, his column "Seen and Heard" was published in that paper for 55 years. He al ...
*
Marie D. De Jesus
Marie may refer to:
People Name
* Marie (given name)
* Marie (Japanese given name)
* Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973
* Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...
*
Arch Merrill
Archie Hayes MerrillHughes, James P"Down-Home Bard: Finger Lakes Great Arch Merrill" ''Life in the Finger Lakes'' magazine, Winter 2008. Accessed January 20, 2001WebCitation archive (August 5, 1894 – July 15, 1974) was an American journalist, wri ...
*
Manuel Rivera-Ortiz
Manuel Rivera-Ortiz (born December 23, 1968) is a stateside Puerto Rican photographer. He is best known for his social documentary photography of people's living conditions in less developed nations. Rivera-Ortiz lives in Rochester, New York an ...
*
Michael Walsh
References
External links
Official SiteGannett Official SiteDemocrat and Chronicle Archive1923 Paper detailing opening of old Pre-Gannett building formerly on Main Street Bridge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Democrat And Chronicle
Newspapers published in Rochester, New York
Gannett publications
History of Rochester, New York
Daily newspapers published in New York (state)