''The Daily Item'' is a six-day (Monday through Saturday) morning
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 ...
published in
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. In addition to its home city, ''The Daily Item'' covers the
Massachusetts North Shore cities and towns of
Nahant
Nahant is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of land area, it is the smallest municipality by are ...
,
Saugus,
Swampscott
Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States Census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Ba ...
,
Peabody,
Revere
Revere may refer to:
Brands and companies
*Revere Ware, a U.S. cookware brand owned by World Kitchen
* Revere Camera Company, American designer of cameras and tape recorders
*Revere Copper Company
* ReVere, a car company recognised by the Classic ...
,
Lynnfield,
Marblehead, and circulates in several adjacent towns.
History
The Item's history dates back to Horace N. Hastings, who, along with three of his four sons, first published the paper on Dec. 8, 1877. Their stated mission was to publish "a daily newspaper of the caliber to meet the needs of the people and to aid in the progress and prosperity of
hegrowing city" of Lynn.
The newspaper remained in the control of the Hastings and Gamage families for five generations until the sale to Essex Media Group.
Competition
By 1996, the ''Daily Evening Item'' was the last family-owned newspaper on the North Shore, its chief competitor, ''
The Salem Evening News'', having been bought the year before by Essex County Newspapers, part of the
Ottaway division of
Dow Jones & Company
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp and led by CEO Almar Latour.
The company publishes ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Barron's'', ''MarketWatch'', ''Mansion Global'', ''Financial News'' and ''Private Equ ...
, which already published four other dailies up the coast. ''Item'' Publisher Brian Thayer told employees the paper was "fac
ngbankruptcy or failure".
[Convey, Eric. "Lynn Daily Item Fights for Its Life". ''Boston Herald'', January 16, 1996.]
The Gamage family hired a new publisher, B.J. Frazier, and cut employee wages. Four years later, Frazier changed the paper's name to ''The Daily Item'', introduced a morning edition and announced an agreement with Essex County Newspapers to print the Lynn paper on their presses. ''The Daily Item'' circulation at the time was little over 20,000.
[McCabe, Kathy. "New-Look Daily Item Set for Unveiling". ''The Boston Globe'', October 29, 2000.]
Contrary to reports in 1996 that the newspaper might be sold, possibly to Essex County Newspapers, Frazier in 2000 said the
Beverly-based publisher would be treated as "a commercial printing company", not "a potential merger. ... ''The Daily Item'' is going to remain fully independent."
Sale by Hastings-Gamage family
In September 2014, Hastings & Sons Publishing Co. Inc., sold ''The Daily Item'' to Essex Media Group, a local investment group led by Communications Consulting Group principal and former ''Item'' editor Ted Grant. According to publisher Peter Hastings Gamage, the sale was required to meet the company's pension obligations. The sale ended 137 years of ownership by the Hastings family.
Prices
''The Daily Item'' prices are: $1 Monday-Saturday.
References
External links
Itemlive, Website of ''The Daily Item''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daily Item
Newspapers published in Massachusetts
Mass media in Essex County, Massachusetts
Lynn, Massachusetts