The ''Belleville News-Democrat'' is a daily newspaper in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

. Focusing on news that is local to the area of southwestern Illinois, it has been published under various names for 150 years. As of 2009, it is published by The McClatchy Company, and is based in

St. Clair County, Illinois St. Clair County is the oldest county in Illinois; its western border is formed by the Mississippi River, bordering Missouri. It is a part of the Metro East in southern Illinois. At the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 257,400 ...

. It publishes content in print as well as online at bnd.com.

History

The ''Belleville News-Democrat'' was founded in 1858 as the ''Weekly Democrat''. In the early 1860s, it merged with the ''Belleville News'' to become the ''Belleville News-Democrat''. It was a family-owned newspaper until 1972, when it was purchased by Capital Cities Communications. When Disney acquired Capital Cities, it briefly owned the ''News-Democrat'' until

Knight Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper brand ...

acquired the newspaper in 1997. McClatchy acquired the paper in 2006 with its purchase of Knight Ridder.

Distinction

The ''Belleville News-Democrat'' has been featured on the television programs ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'', '' Dateline'' and ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...

'', as an example of investigative reporting. In 2003, an article in ''

Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...

'' called the ''News-Democrat'' one of "Ten newspapers that do it right" under the leadership of former publisher, Gary Berkeley, and former editor, Greg Edwards. It is also the only newspaper in Illinois or Missouri to grow net paid circulation for ten years in a row, and is a frequent winner in state and regional journalism awards. In 2007, ''News-Democrat'' reporters Beth Hundsdorfer and George Pawlaczyk won the

Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award The Robert F. Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism is a journalism award named after Robert F. Kennedy and awarded by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. The annual awards are issued in several categories and were est ...

for "Lethal Lapses", a series investigating errors of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services that resulted in the deaths of 53 children.

Staff

The newspaper employs approximately 280 people, plus about 75 at its weekly ancillary papers. The newsroom staff consists of 26 reporters, 12 editors, seven copy editors, four photographers, three newsroom assistants and an editorial cartoonist, (see:

Glenn McCoy Glenn McCoy (born 1965) is a conservative American cartoonist, whose work includes the comic strip '' The Duplex'' and the daily panel he does with his brother Gary entitled ''The Flying McCoys''. McCoy previously produced editorial cartoons u ...

Other publications

It publishes separate editions in Madison County and St. Clair County. The ''News-Democrat'' also publishes the following weekly papers: * ''The Highland News Leader'' * ''Tri-County Leader'' * ''O'Fallon Progress'' * ''Command Post'' (serving Scott Air Force Base) * '' Legal Reporter'' * ''Penny Saver''

Counties served

Illinois

* St. Clair *

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 ...

* Bond *

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

* Washington * Monroe * Marion *

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

* Perry *

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

Missouri

* St. Louis *

St. Louis City St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

References

External links

bnd.com official site

Official mobile website

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071117195420/http://www.bnd.com/236/index.html the Lethal Lapses series {{McClatchy Newspapers published in Illinois McClatchy publications St. Clair County, Illinois Belleville, Illinois Former subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company