''The Herald-Dispatch'' is a 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 ...

that serves

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

, and neighboring communities in southern

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and eastern

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. It is currently owned by HD Media Co. LLC.

History

''The Herald-Dispatch'' was founded in 1909 when two Huntington newspapers, the ''Herald'' and the ''Dispatch'', merged. In 1927, the newspaper became a part of the Huntington Publishing Company, operated by Joseph Harvey Long, the owner of the ''Huntington Advertiser''. The company was operated by the Long family until 1971, when it was sold to the ''

Honolulu Star Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...

'' and then to Gannett ten months later. Its companion afternoon paper, the ''Huntington Advertiser'', ceased as a separate publication in 1979. Prior to the ''Huntington Advertiser's'' demise, the combined Sunday newspaper was referred to as the ''Herald-Advertiser'', correctly depicted in the movie '' We Are Marshall''. Today, it also publishes the ''Putnam Herald'' and the ''Lawrence Herald'', more localized editions of ''The Herald-Dispatch'' serving Putnam County, West Virginia and

Lawrence County, Ohio Lawrence County is the southernmost county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,240. Its county seat is Ironton. The county was created in 1815 and later organized in 1817. It is named for James Lawr ...

, respectively. For the six-month period ending March 31, 2005, the total average paid circulation was 29,098 for the daily edition and 35,552 for the Sunday edition. On May 8, 2007, the newspaper was sold to Gatehouse Media, then to Champion Industries on June 29. Then on May 23, 2009, Champion Industries, which owned the paper at that time, revealed that it was in default of a $70 million loan from

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), the principal subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp is an American bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fifth Third is one of the largest consumer banks in the Midwestern United States, Fifth Third B ...

and the previous owners, and eliminated 24 positions, representing about 15% of its workforce. In October 2011, they laid off additional employees. In 2013, Champion Industries sold ''The Herald-Dispatch'' to local politician, Douglas Reynolds, the son of Champion's chief executive. In 2014, ''The Herald-Dispatch'' parent company HD Media acquired the ''Wayne County News'' in

Wayne, West Virginia Wayne is a town in, and the county seat of, Wayne County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,441 at the 2020 census. Wayne is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2015, the MSA had a ...

. In 2015, the newspaper ceased printing itself, contracting the operation to the ''

Charleston Gazette-Mail The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the ''Charleston Daily Mail''. The paper is one of nine owned by HD ...

'' and laid off its production staff. The newspaper is now printed in Charleston and trucked 50 miles to Huntington for distribution. In 2017,

HD Media HD Media Co., LLC is a Huntington, West Virginia, based publisher of daily and weekly newspapers and magazines. It was established by Doug Reynolds in 2013 to purchase the Herald-Dispatch from Champion Industries. Newspapers ''The Herald-Dispa ...

acquired the ''

Logan Banner ''The Logan Banner'', originally named the Logan County Banner, is a newspaper in Logan, West Virginia owned by HD Media, LLC, parent company of ''The Herald-Dispatch'' in Huntington. Circulation is limited to Logan County and surrounding areas ...

'', ''

Williamson Daily News The ''Williamson Daily News'' is a newspaper in Williamson, West Virginia. It was founded in 1912 and is the successor to a previous weekly effort, ''The Southern West Virginian'', founded in 1900. As of July 3, 2019, the paper publishes as a ...

'', the ''Coal Valley News'' in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and ''The Pineville Independent Herald'' in Pineville from

Civitas Media Civitas Media, LLC was a Davidson, North Carolina-based publisher of community newspapers covering 11 Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern states. The company was formed in 2012 via the merger of Heartland Publications, Impressions Media, Ohi ...

. On March 8, 2018, HD Media, the Herald-Dispatch's holding company, was declared the successful bid in the auction for the

after the paper had declared bankruptcy.

Other papers owned by HD Media

*''

'' *''

'' *''Coal Valley News'' in

*''The Pineville Independent Herald'' in Pineville *''

Wayne County News ''The Herald-Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper that serves Huntington, West Virginia, and neighboring communities in southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky. It is currently owned by HD Media Co. LLC. History ''The Herald-Dispatch'' was founded in 19 ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herald-Dispatch Newspapers published in West Virginia Newspapers established in 1909 Huntington, West Virginia 1909 establishments in West Virginia

History

Other papers owned by HD Media

See also

References

External links