''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...

and eight counties in southern

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 owned by

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.The Dickson Herald'', the '' Gallatin News-Examiner'', the '' Hendersonville Star-News'', the '' Fairview Observer'', and the '' Ashland City Times''. Its circulation area overlaps those of the ''

Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle ''The Leaf-Chronicle'' is a newspaper in the state of Tennessee, founded, officially, in 1808. First appearing as a weekly newspaper under various names as early as 1808 and eventually as the ''Clarksville Chronicle'', the current name is the re ...

'' and ''

The Daily News Journal ''The Daily News Journal'', commonly abbreviated to ''DNJ'', is a newspaper serving Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Rutherford County, and surrounding communities. It is Rutherford County's sole daily newspaper. It publishes print and digital content. ...

'' in Murfreesboro, two other independent Gannett papers. The company publishes several specialty publications, including '' Nashville Lifestyles'' magazine.

History

''The Tennessean'', Nashville's daily newspaper, traces its roots back to the ''Nashville Whig'', a weekly paper that began publication on September 1, 1812. The paper underwent various mergers and acquisitions throughout the 19th century, emerging as the ''Nashville American''. The first issue of the ''Nashville Tennessean'' was printed on Sunday May 12, 1907. The paper was founded by Col. Luke Lea, a 28-year-old attorney and local political activist. In 1910, the publishers purchased a controlling interest in the ''Nashville American''. They began publishing an edition known as ''The Tennessean American''. When the ''American'' formally folded in 1911, some of its employees banded together to found the ''Nashville Democrat''. This paper was purchased by the ''Tennessean'' in 1913. In 1931, Col. Luke Lea and his son Luke Lea, Jr. were

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

for their role in the failure of the Central Bank and Trust Co. of

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. On March 3, 1933, the newspaper was placed under federal

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

, and

Ashland City Ashland City is a town in and the county seat of Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,767 as of the 2020 census. History Ashland City was created in 1856 as a county seat for the newly established Cheatham County. Th ...

attorney and former ''Tennessean'' editorial writer Littleton J. Pardue was appointed to direct the paper. Under his leadership circulation grew swiftly, but the newspaper continued to lose money. In 1935, the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgag ...

acquired a large portion of the paper's outstanding bonds. It eventually sold them to Paul Davis, president of the

First American National Bank First American National Bank was a subsidiary of First American Corporation, a financial institution based in Nashville, Tennessee, that served the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia. It was headquartered in the First American ...

of Nashville. Still suffering from effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the paper was sold at auction in 1937, when it was purchased for $850,000 by Silliman Evans, Sr. a former reporter for the ''

Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Carter acc ...

''. Evans came to an agreement with ''

Nashville Banner The ''Nashville Banner'' is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998. The ''Banner'' was published each Monday through Friday afternoon (as well as Saturdays unti ...

'' publisher James Stahlman to move both newspapers into new offices at 1100 Broadway. He created the

Newspaper Printing Corporation 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 an ...

as a business agent for both papers. As part of this agreement, the ''Tennessean'' ceased publication of its evening editions, and the ''Banner'' ceased publication of its Sunday edition. The two newspapers maintained a

joint operating agreement The Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Richard Nixon, authorizing the formation of joint operating agreements among competing newspaper operations within the same media market area. It ...

from 1937 until the ''Banner'' ceased publication February 20, 1998. The two papers operated out of the same building and shared advertising and production staff, but maintained separate (and distinct) ownership and editorial voices. On June 2, 1955, Silliman Evans Jr. was named president of the paper. After his father died unexpectedly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on June 26, the board of the paper elected him publisher, and he became president of the Newspaper Printing Corporation in August. In 1957, ''Tennessean''

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Tom Little won a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

for his cartoon, ''"

Wonder Why My Parents Didn't Give Me Salk Shots? Wonder most commonly refers to: * Wonder (emotion), an emotion comparable to surprise that people feel when perceiving something rare or unexpected Wonder may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * The Wonders, a fictional band ...

"'', encouraging parents to have their children immunized against polio. In 1961, Silliman Evans Jr. died of a heart attack at age 36 while on his boat on

Old Hickory Lake Old Hickory Lake is a reservoir in north central Tennessee. It is formed by the Old Hickory Lock and Dam (), located on the Cumberland River at mile 216.2 in Sumner and Davidson counties, approximately upstream from Nashville. The city ...

. Ownership of the newspaper passed to his mother, and several months later his brother Amon Carter Evans was named Chief Executive of the paper. ''Tennessean'' reporters

Nat Caldwell Nathan Green Caldwell (July 16, 1912 – February 11, 1985) was an American journalist who spent fifty years on the staff of the ''Nashville Tennessean''. He was a co-winner of the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 1962. Early life and ...

and Gene Graham won a

in 1962 " r their exclusive disclosure and six years of detailed reporting, under great difficulties, of the undercover cooperation between management interests in the coal industry and the

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

." In the same year,

John Seigenthaler Sr. John Lawrence Seigenthaler ( ; July 27, 1927 – July 11, 2014) was an American journalist, writer, and political figure. He was known as a prominent defender of First Amendment rights. Seigenthaler joined the Nashville newspaper ''The ...

was named editor of the newspaper. He would earn the additional title of publisher in 1973. Tennessean office

In 1972, the Gannett Corporation purchased the ''Nashville Banner'' from the Stahlman family. In 1979, Gannett sold the ''Banner'' to a group of local investors including political figure

John Jay Hooker John Jay Hooker, Jr. (August 24, 1930 – January 24, 2016) was an American attorney, entrepreneur, political gadfly and perennial candidate from Nashville, Tennessee, who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 1970 and 1998 ...

, businessman Brownlee Currey and

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

banker Irby Simpkins for about $25 million. It then purchased the ''Tennessean'' from the Evans family for about $50 million. John Seigenthaler became president, publisher, and editor of the Gannett-owned ''Tennessean''. Historian E. Thomas Wood says that "without question" Seigenthaler ran the newspaper as a liberal one. In 1976, when it was revealed that ''Tennessean'' reporter Jacqueline Srouji had for many years been working as an informant (and possibly ''

agent provocateur An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, the ...

'') for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

, including spying on her colleagues at the paper, Seigenthaler fired her immediately. Srouji claimed that when she had started as a reporter for the ''

'' over a decade before, that paper's publisher had encouraged her to hand over information to the FBI. In 1989, Frank Sutherland was named editor. He had begun his career as a reporter at the paper in 1963. Seigenthaler retired as publisher in 1991. He was replaced by Craig Moon, who held the post until he moved into a corporate position with Gannett in 2002; Moon was later named publisher 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, Virgini ...

''. Leslie Giallombardo was publisher from 2002 to 2005. Seigenthaler remained "Chairman Emeritus" until he died. In September 1998, the paper launched Tennessean.com, its news and information

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

. Among the notable journalists who have worked for ''The Tennessean'' are Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

and his wife Tipper,

winning author

David Halberstam David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, Korean War, and later ...

, and cartoonist Anthony Wright. In early 2019, ''The Tennessean'' confirmed that it would be leaving its long-time headquarters at 1100 Broadway for a smaller facility nearby, and that its printing operations would be consolidated with those of the Gannett-owned ''

Knoxville News-Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...

'' at a facility near Knoxville, resulting in much earlier

deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...

s for its print editions. In March 2013, ''The Tennessean''s circulation was reported as 100,825 daily (M-F), 102,855 (Sat) and 227,626 (Sun). In contrast, as of November 2, 2005, the paper reported daily circulation of 177,714; Saturday circulation of 199,489 and Sunday circulation of 250,575. The paper's primary print competitors are the weekly ''

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

'' and the ''

Nashville Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

''. In 2004 Gannett announced the acquisition of the '' Franklin Review-Appeal'', and ''

'' in Murfreesboro from

Morris Multimedia Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

. The ''Review-Appeal'' became a supplement of ''The Tennessean'', while the ''Daily News Journal'' continued to operate as an independent newspaper. The paper maintains two Goss Colorliner presses. In 2002, the paper completed installation of a MAN Roland UNISET press, which is now used to print regional editions of ''

'', as well as commercial printing jobs. In early 2019 it was announced that the ''Tennessean'' would begin to be printed in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

on presses which it would share with the ''

''.

John Seigenthaler John Lawrence Seigenthaler ( ; July 27, 1927 – July 11, 2014) was an American journalist, writer, and political figure. He was known as a prominent defender of First Amendment rights. Seigenthaler joined the Nashville newspaper ''The ...

joined ''The Tennessean'' in 1949, resigning in 1960 to act as

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

's administrative assistant. He rejoined ''The Tennessean'' as editor in 1962, publisher in 1973, and chairman in 1982 before retiring as chairman emeritus in 1991. Ellen Leifeld was named as publisher in September 2005, succeeding Leslie Giallombardo, who became the newspaper's first female publisher in April 2002. Carol Hudler was named publisher in 2009 when Leifeld retired. Hudler was replaced by Laura Hollingsworth, who was named president and publisher in May 2013. Frank Sutherland served as editor of the newspaper from 1989–2004. He began his

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

career as a reporter at the paper in the 1960s, and returned as editor after a serving in several leadership positions at other newspapers. He announced his retirement in September 2004. He was briefly succeeded by Everett J. Mitchell II, the former managing editor of the ''

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

'', who was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to be editor of ''The Tennessean''. In September 2006, Mark Silverman was announced as editor. He was replaced by Maria De Varenne in 2011, who held the executive editor post until February 2014. At that time,

Stefanie Murray Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Polish, and Russian " St ...

was named vice president for content and engagement. She was previously an assistant managing editor at the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

''.Cavendish, Steve
"Tennessean Hires New VP To Run News Operation"
'' The Nashville Scene'', Nashville, February 14, 2014. Retrieved on May 23, 2015.

References

External links

Tennessean.com

Rutherford

Williamson A.M.Tennessean.com mobile versionAshland City Times''Dickson Herald''''Dickson Shopper''''Fairview Observer''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessean, The Mass media in Nashville, Tennessee Newspapers published in Tennessee Gannett publications Publications established in 1907 1907 establishments in Tennessee

History

See also

References

External links