''The Decatur Daily'' is a daily (five days a week)
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 ...
serving
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler La ...
and the
Tennessee Valley
The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Car ...
in the
North Alabama
North Alabama is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Several geographic definitions for the area exist, with all descriptions including the nine counties of Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The North Alabama Industrial Development Associ ...
area of the
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 ...
. As of September 30, 2006, it had an average daily circulation of 20,824 and a Sunday circulation of 23,840. Along with ''
The Anniston Star
''The Anniston Star'' is the daily newspaper serving Anniston, Alabama, and the surrounding six-county region. Average Sunday circulation in September 2004 was 26,747. However, by 2020 it was approximately half of this. The newspaper is locally ow ...
'', it is one of only two family-owned daily newspapers remaining in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
.
History
It was first published on February 26, 1912, under the banner of ''The Decaturs Daily'', serving the towns of Decatur and New Decatur. After 1916, when New Decatur was renamed Albany, the paper was called ''The Albany-Decatur Daily''. When the two towns were consolidated in 1927, it assumed its present title.
The newspaper is published by the Tennessee Valley Printing Co., Inc., formed in 1911. William R. Shelton was the primary owner and first publisher. He served in this capacity until his death in 1924, and was succeeded by his son
Barrett C. Shelton Sr. Barrett C. Shelton Jr. has been publisher since 1984, and
Barrett C. "Clint" Shelton III today serves as general manager.
On April 1, 2009, The Tennessee Valley Printing Company purchased the
TimesDaily
The ''TimesDaily'' is the daily newspaper for Florence, Alabama. ''The TimesDaily'' covers a four-county region in Alabama including Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, and Lawrence counties, as well as portions of southern Tennessee and northeast ...
newspaper in Florence, Alabama, from the New York Times Regional News Group.
In 2018, facing challenges from the switch to digital media and sharp increases in newsprint costs due to a tariff imposed on Canadian newsprint, 'The Decatur Daily' stopped printing editions on Saturdays and Mondays.
Awards
2018 Better Newspaper Contest - Alabama Press Association
References
External links
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A Brief History of THE DECATUR DAILYFamily-owned papers — more than bottom line: DAILY, Anniston Star unique among Alabama publications
Newspapers published in Alabama
Decatur metropolitan area, Alabama
Huntsville-Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area
Morgan County, Alabama
Publications established in 1912
Companies based in Decatur, Alabama
Daily newspapers published in the United States
1912 establishments in Alabama
{{Alabama-newspaper-stub