''The Press-Enterprise'' is a paid daily newspaper published by
Digital First Media
MNG Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado-based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. The company has been growing its portfolio and as of May 2021, owns over 100 newsp ...
that serves the
Inland Empire in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
. Headquartered in downtown
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...
, it is the primary newspaper for
Riverside County
Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...
, with heavy penetration into neighboring
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
. The geographic circulation area of the newspaper spans from the border of
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
to the west, east to the
Coachella Valley, north to the
San Bernardino Mountains, and south to the
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...
line. ''The Press-Enterprise'' is a member of the
Southern California News Group
The Southern California News Group (SCNG), formerly the San Gabriel Valley News Group and the Los Angeles News Group, is an umbrella group of local daily newspapers published in the greater Los Angeles area by Digital First Media, which is owned ...
.
The newspaper traces its roots to ''The Press'', which began publishing in 1878, and ''The Daily Enterprise'', which started publishing in 1885. The two papers were merged into one company in 1931, but the company did not begin publishing a daily morning paper named ''The Press-Enterprise'' until 1983.
A. H. Belo acquired the company in 1998. In October 2013, A.H. Belo announced that it had reached an agreement to sell The Press-Enterprise's assets to
Freedom Communications
Freedom Communications, Inc., was an American media conglomerate that operated daily and weekly newspapers, websites and mobile applications, as well as ''Coast Magazine'' and other specialty publications. Headquartered at 625 N. Grand Avenue in ...
, parent company of the ''
Orange County Register'', for $27 million; after some delays, the transaction closed in late November. Freedom declared bankruptcy in 2016, the ''Register'' and the ''Press-Enterprise'' were sold in a bankruptcy auction to Digital First Media in March 2016.
''The Press-Enterprises local competitors are the ''
San Bernardino Sun
''The San Bernardino Sun'' is a paid daily newspaper in San Bernardino County. Founded in 1894, it has significant circulation in neighboring Riverside County, and serves most of the Inland Empire in Southern California, with a circulation area s ...
'' and the ''
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
The ''Inland Valley Daily Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, serving the Pomona Valley and southwest San Bernardino County. The ''Daily Bulletin'' is a member of the Southern California News Group (formerly th ...
'', along with sharing some of its western circulation areas with the ''
Orange County Register'' and ''
The Californian'' (of
Temecula
Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...
) in the southwest area.
History
The ''Riverside Press'' was first published on June 29, 1878, by James Roe, a druggist and teacher.
[Patterson, Tom. ''A Colony For California'', Second Edition, 1996. p. 55.] In 1880 Roe sold the newspaper to Luther M. Holt, who, for several years, published the paper under the name the ''Riverside Press and Horticulturist''. In 1886 Holt began issuing the paper daily.
[The Press-Enterprise, ''Press Into The Past'', ''1878-2007: A Press-Enterprise Timeline'', April 20, 2007]
''The Riverside Daily Enterprise'' was first published in 1885 by David F. Sarber, and became a county paper in 1896 when it absorbed the ''Perris Valley Record'' and the ''Moreno Valley Indicator''. The paper was published somewhat sporadically through 1911 by various owners, and under various names, including; ''Riverside Weekly Enterprise'', ''Riverside Semi-weekly Enterprise'', ''Weekly Enterprise'', and the ''Morning Mission''. In 1912, The Enterprise was sold to the owners of the San Bernardino ''Sun''.
[
In 1931 ''The Press'' purchased ''The Enterprise'' from the ''San Bernardino Sun''. The newly combined company issued ''The Enterprise'' in the morning, and ''The Press'' in the evenings. In 1954 the Riverside Press changed its company name to the Press-Enterprise Company, and in 1955 the two papers began printing a joint Sunday edition called the ''Sunday Press-Enterprise''. Due to market conditions, the two papers were combined into one morning paper, ''The Press-Enterprise'', in 1983.][
The Dallas-based A.H. Belo Corporation purchased The Press-Enterprise Company from the Hays family through multiple acquisitions in 1997 and 1998.
Enterprise Media was formed in 2010 and released a B2B website, enterprisemedia.co.
In 2013, ''The Press-Enterprise'' was sold to ]Freedom Communications
Freedom Communications, Inc., was an American media conglomerate that operated daily and weekly newspapers, websites and mobile applications, as well as ''Coast Magazine'' and other specialty publications. Headquartered at 625 N. Grand Avenue in ...
for $27 million.
On March 21, 2016, ''The Press-Enterprise'' and its sister newspaper the ''Orange County Register'' were sold to Digital First Media
MNG Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado-based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. The company has been growing its portfolio and as of May 2021, owns over 100 newsp ...
, after Freedom Communications
Freedom Communications, Inc., was an American media conglomerate that operated daily and weekly newspapers, websites and mobile applications, as well as ''Coast Magazine'' and other specialty publications. Headquartered at 625 N. Grand Avenue in ...
declared bankruptcy and was placed in an auction which included Tribune Publishing. With Digital First Media as its new owner, it now expands to 11 daily newspapers, six in Los Angeles County, three in San Bernardino County, one in Orange County, and one in Riverside County.
Pulitzer Prize
The Press-Enterprise won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for meritorious public service for its exposé of corruption in the courts in connection with the handling of the property and estates of the Agua Caliente Indian tribe of Palm Springs, California. The series was written by George Ringwald.
Supreme Court cases
The Press-Enterprise Company won two separate United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
cases that established the public's right to witness specific aspects of criminal court proceedings.
The first case, won in 1984, was ''Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of California, Riverside County''. In a case involving the rape and murder of a teenage girl, the ''Press-Enterprise'' requested that the voir dire
(; often ; from an Anglo-Norman phrase meaning "to speak the truth") is a legal phrase for a variety of procedures connected with jury trials. It originally referred to an oath taken by jurors to tell the truth ( la, verum dicere). This term is ...
, the process of questioning the jury, be open to the public and press. The request was denied, as well as the request for the subsequent transcripts, and upheld by the California Court of Appeal
The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts. . The California Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...
denied the ''Press-Enterprise'''s request for a hearing. The United States Supreme Court decided in favor of the ''Press-Enterprise'', establishing that the public has the right to attend jury selection during criminal trials.
The second case, won in 1986, was also called ''Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of California''. The case involved Robert Diaz who was accused of 12 patient murders while acting as a nurse at the Community Hospital of the Valleys in Perris, California
Perris is an old railway city in Riverside County, California, United States, located east-southeast of Los Angeles and north of San Diego. It is known for Lake Perris, an artificial lake, skydiving, and its sunny dry climate. Perris is with ...
. The defendant requested that the public be excluded from the proceedings. The Magistrate granted the unopposed request because of the national attention that the case had garnered. At the end of the hearing the ''Press-Enterprise'' requested that the transcripts be released, but the request was denied and the records were sealed. The United States Supreme Court decided that the public has the right to attend pretrial hearings in criminal cases, including preliminary hearings.Justia.com; US Supreme Court Center
Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Ct., 478 U. S. 1 (1986). Retrieved November 16, 2009.
See also
* Tim Hays
* James Ward
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Press-Enterprise
Daily newspapers published in Greater Los Angeles
Mass media in the Inland Empire
Mass media in Riverside, California
Mass media in Riverside County, California
Mass media in San Bernardino, California
Companies based in Riverside, California
Publications established in 1878
1878 establishments in California
Digital First Media
Freedom Communications
Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service winners