The ''Press-Register'' (known from 1997 to 2006 as the ''Mobile Register'') is a thrice-weekly
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 the southwest
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 ...
counties of
Mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
and
Baldwin. The newspaper is a descendant of one founded in 1813, making the ''Press-Register'' Alabama's oldest newspaper. It is owned by
Advance Publications
Advance Publications, Inc., doing business as Advance, is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse Jr. It owns a large number of subsidiary companies, including Condé Nast, an ...
, which also owns the primary newspapers in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
and
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
. The ''Press-Register'' had a daily publication schedule since the inception of its predecessors in the early 1800s until September 30, 2012, at which time it and its sister papers reduced to print editions only on Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays. The ''Press Register'' also publishes an edition for the
Mississippi Gulf Coast
The Mississippi Gulf Coast, also known as Mississippi Coast, Mississippi Gulf Coast region, Coastal Mississippi, and The Coast, is the area of Mississippi along the Mississippi Sound at the northern extreme of the Gulf of Mexico.
Geography
At th ...
, ''The Mississippi Press''. The newspaper announced that it would shut down and cease all printing in February 2023.
19th century
''The Mobile Gazette'' was founded and began
publication
To publish is to make content available to the general public.[Berne Conve ...](_blank)
shortly after
Mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
was captured by
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 ...
troops in April 1813 after 33 years under Spanish rule. Another Mobile-based newspaper would begin publishing on December 10, 1821 as ''The Mobile Commercial Register'' by former
Boston, Massachusetts resident and
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
merchant Jonathan Battelle, along with John W. Townsend of a
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
newspaper. One year later, the ''Gazette'' was taken over by the ''Register'', making it a good purchase for one Thaddeus Sanford in 1828. Under Sanford, the ''Mobile Patriot'' newspaper was bought out, thus becoming part of the daily ''Mobile Daily Commercial Register and Patriot'' in 1832. The ''Register'' is sold yet again in 1837, this time to Epapheas Kibby and Mobile attorney
John Forsyth Jr., who would have a 40-year relationship with the paper until his death in 1877. The ''
New York Times'''
eulogy
A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...
for Forsyth included the phrase, "most important Democratic editor of the South". Mobile's
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
epidemic forced the ''Register'' to publish only three times a week in 1839. Once Sanford reclaimed what he purchased years before, he combined the ''Register'' with the ''Merchants and Planters Journal'', resulting in ''The Mobile Register and Journal'' in 1841. Communication's latest innovation the
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
became the ''Register''
's means of receiving news in 1848. After C.A. and C.M. Bradford's purchase of the ''Register''
's one-half interest, the paper was renamed ''The Mobile Daily Register'' in 1849. Forsyth once again bought back the ''Register'' in 1854. Future
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
colonel and
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 ...
poet
Theodore O'Hara
Theodore O'Hara (February 11, 1820 – June 6, 1867) was a poet and an officer for the United States Army in the Mexican–American War, and a Confederate colonel in the American Civil War. He is best known for the poems "Bivouac of the Dead", w ...
joined the ''Register'' shortly before the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Swiss-born propagandist for the Confederacy
Henry Hotze
Henry Hotze (September 2, 1833 – April 19, 1887) was a Swiss American propagandist for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He acted as a Confederate agent in Great Britain, attempting to build support for the South ...
also worked for the paper for a time before the war.
It would take the conflict beginning in 1861 to combine the ''Mobile Daily Register'' and competitor ''The Mobile Daily Advertiser'' to form ''The Mobile Daily Advertiser and Register''. About three years after the war, the ''Register'' was sold and combined again, this time to
William d'Alton Mann
William d'Alton Mann (September 27, 1839 – May 17, 1920) was an American Civil War soldier, businessman, and newspaper and magazine publisher.
Early life
He was born in Sandusky, Ohio on September 27, 1839.
Career
During the Civil War, M ...
of ''The Mobile Times'' and ''The Mobile Daily Register''. Isaac Donovan's arrival as the ''Register''
's new owner in 1871 marked the beginning of a new era for the stable newspaper, including a new position for editor Charles Carter Langdon. Langdon would become the ''Register''
's
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
editor, giving him the opportunity to promote scientific approaches in the field. In life, Langdon served as mayor of Mobile, an Alabama state
legislator
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...
, and a trustee of the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College in
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
. Today Langdon's contributions to what would be
Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
are honored at the hall named for him in 1846. In 1872, the ''Register'' incorporates as The Register Printing association. During John Forsyth, Jr.'s final years, he, along with
John L. Rapier formed a partnership to operate the ''Register''. After Forsyth's death, Rapier became principal owner.
Telephones
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...
would become available at the ''Register'' in 1883, along with
electric light
An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...
a year later. Rapier organized the
stock
In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
company The Register Co. to publish the paper in 1889. Erwin S. Craighead, who would later be known as "Mobile's newspaperman" began his long career at the ''Register'' as the city editor in 1884 before earning the position of editor in chief in 1892.
Throughout Craighead's tenure until retirement in 1927, he was supportive of the former Confederacy and the Union reconciling, along with economic and commercial development. As the 19th century was coming to a close, the ''Register'' began using six
Linotype typesetting machines in 1893, which were used for many decades until the "cold type" age began in 1974. Photographs began appearing in the ''Register'' during the 1890s.
20th century
In 1905, company president John L. Rapier dies, allowing his son Paul to take his position at Rapier and Company, leading up to the next name change from ''The Daily Register'' to ''The Mobile Register''. Five years later, Frederick I. Thompson became the new owner of the ''Register''. ''The Mobile Item'' would be the next newspaper to operate under the
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
native, who owned a chain of newspapers in Alabama, but it would remain an afternoon paper under the name ''The Mobile News-Item'' starting in 1916. Publisher Ralph B. Chandler's afternoon newspaper ''The Mobile Press'' began publication on April 15, 1929 inside a former church on Jackson and St. Michael Street in downtown Mobile. Thompson suffered financially during
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 ...
, allowing his competitor to buy out ''The Mobile Register'' in 1932. The Mobile Daily Newspapers Incorporated was established to publish the ''Register'' as a morning paper, the ''Press'' as an afternoon paper, and both papers are combined as the weekend paper ''The Mobile Press Register''. For the ''Press'' to continue, the ''Mobile News-Item'' had to end publication. The year 1944 had moments good and bad for the ''Press Register'', starting with a fire stopping the presses for a brief period of time, but with help from the
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
and a
printing facility, the newspaper continued publishing. On October 1, 1944, ''The Mobile Press Register'' began publication at its new facility on 304
Government Street in downtown Mobile after years on St. Louis and Hamilton. "No effort has been spared to make it 100% efficient", as the front page article stated that day. George M. Cox was the first ''Press Register'' editor to work in the building.
From 1948 to the end of the 1950s, the ''Press Register'' owned
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
WABB. During the 1950s, the ''Press Register'' started its own
photograph
A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...
department under chief photographer Billy Lavender, who used the large Speed Graphic
press camera
A press camera is a medium or large format view camera that was predominantly used by press photographers in the early to mid-20th century. It was largely replaced for press photography by 35mm film cameras in the 1960s, and subsequently, by dig ...
. The ''
Honolulu Advertiser
''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Int ...
'' received the ''Press Register''
's old press machines in 1955, as the Goss Headliner press machine began operation within the ''Press Register'' building for the next 47 years. At the time of its arrival, the Goss Headliner was commonly referred to as, "the most modern
ress machineto be found anywhere in the world". Longtime
TV partner
WKRG-TV
WKRG-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving southwest Alabama and northwest Florida as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Gulf Shores, Alabama–licensed CW owne ...
went on the air in 1955.
S.I. Newhouse's newspaper group bought out ''The Mobile Press Register'' in 1966. ''Mobile Press'' founder and ''Press Register'' publisher Ralph Chandler would die in 1970, giving William J. Hearin the positions of president and publisher. In December 1978, video display terminals became a fixture in the ''Press Register''
's newsroom. On September 12, 1979,
Hurricane Frederic
Hurricane Frederic was an intense and damaging tropical cyclone that carved a path of destruction from the Lesser Antilles to Quebec, in particular devastating areas of the United States Gulf Coast. Though only five were killed directly, the US$ ...
made its arrival on the
Alabama Gulf Coast, stopping the ''Press Register'' from publication for two days. Baldwin County's own paper ''The Baldwin Press Register'' began publication in 1988.
In 1992, Howard Bronson, formerly of the ''
Shreveport Times
''The Times'' is a Gannett daily newspaper based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its distribution area includes 12 parishes in Northwest Louisiana and three counties in East Texas. Its coverage focuses on issues affecting the Shreveport-Bossier market, ...
'', became publisher of the ''Mobile Press Register'' with a mission for the paper to "reinvent itself as one of the most well-written, high profile news sources in the South". That same year,
Stanley R. Tiner
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
, former editor of the defunct ''
Shreveport Journal
''The Shreveport Journal'' was an American newspaper originally published by H. P. Benton in Shreveport and Bossier City in northwestern Louisiana. In operation from at least 1897, it ceased publication in 1991.
History
The name ''The Journal' ...
'', became the editor and vice president of news. He held that position for seven years until managing editor Michael Marshall succeeded him in 1999. One year after Bronson's arrival, sports editor Ben Nolan retired after more than 45 years in the sports department. Nolan died in 2001, as did former publisher William Hearin. Three members of the ''Press Register'' staff were named finalists for the
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 ...
in 1995 after a series of
editorials
An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, such ...
on reforming the Alabama Constitution. On January 31, 1997, the afternoon ''Mobile Press'' ended publication, but the name lived on in the corporate title The Mobile Press Register Inc. The name continued to appear in the weekly "Suburban", "Points South", and "Points North" sections of the ''Register'' available to certain areas of Mobile County.
21st century
After almost 58 years on Government Street, the ''Mobile Register'' moved to its current modern facility on Water Street in June 2002. Days before the big move, the ''Register'' switched to the new
MAN Roland
Manroland AG manufactures newspaper web offset presses, commercial web offset presses, and sheetfed offset presses for commercial, publications and packaging printing.
The company has production facilities in Offenbach am Main and Augsburg. M ...
AG printing press, which is viewable from large windows stretching from top to bottom on the new building. This location within historic DeTonti Square and the City of Mobile's business district was chosen as part of an effort to revitalize the downtown area and southwest Alabama. Also that summer, the ''Register'' printed ballots for its first ever Reader's Choice Awards, where readers can choose their favorite local attractions, food, people, and much more.
In September 2004, the ''Register''
's newfound strength within its 2-year-old building was put to the test when
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlan ...
rolled across the Gulf Coast and into the northeast. Unlike "
Frederic", the ''Register'' continued operation during and after the storm's arrival. Less than a year later,
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
devastated the Gulf Coast as it made landfall on August 29, 2005, along the Louisiana-Mississippi border, knocking out power and communications throughout the region. After floodwaters swept into downtown Mobile and knocked out power to the ''Register's'' building, a special Hurricane Edition of the ''Mobile Register'' was published at the ''Pensacola News Journal'' facility on August 30, 2005. Subsequent editions were published in Birmingham while utilities came back on line in the days immediately following the storm. In the devastating aftermath of Katrina's assault on New Orleans, the ''Times-Picayune'' was published at the ''Register'' facility, and transported daily to New Orleans. During this time, the ''Register'' also housed employees of the ''Mississippi Press,'' whose offices were wiped out by the storm. In the weeks and months following the hurricane, the
Water Street Water Street may refer to:
*Water Street, Hong Kong
** Water Street (constituency) around Water Street, Hong Kong
* Water Street, Milwaukee
*Water Street, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated village
* Water Street (Augusta, Maine)
*Water Street (St. Jo ...
headquarters published three daily newspapers at its facility – the ''Mobile Register'', ''Times-Picayune'' and ''Mississippi Press''.
On April 2, 2006, the ''Register'' restored the ''Press-Register'' name, something that has stayed with longtime residents in south Alabama over nine years after ''The Mobile Press'' ceased publication. Besides being a welcome sight for long-time readers, the return of the ''Press-Register'' name reflects the newspaper's expansion into Mobile's surrounding areas. The twice-a-week "Mobile County Neighbors" section replaces the area-specific sections that appeared every Thursday. Stock market coverage was reduced to daily summaries and a Saturday recap of the week's events, including four pages of stock and mutual fund listings.
The circulation of the Mobile ''Press-Register'' is just over 94,000 daily readers for Monday to Saturday and 111,368 for Sunday, making the ''Press-Register'' the second-most-read newspaper in Alabama.
The single copy rates are: Wednesday/Friday, $2 & Sunday/day after Thanksgiving Day, $3.
The newspaper announced that it would shut down and cease all printing in February 2023.
''The Mississippi Press''
''The Mississippi Press'' is the
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
edition of the ''Press-Register'', headquartered in
Pascagoula
The Pascagoula (also Pascoboula, Pacha-Ogoula, Pascagola, Pascaboula, Paskaguna) were an indigenous group living in coastal Mississippi on the Pascagoula River.
The name ''Pascagoula'' is a Mobilian Jargon term meaning "bread people". Choctaw na ...
. Its website is http://www.gulflive.com/mississippipress/
Cutbacks
In 2012, Advance Publications announced that ''The Press-Register,'' along with its sister papers in New Orleans, Birmingham and Huntsville, would reduce their print-edition publication schedule to Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with coverage on other days provided by their website, al.com. The change results in roughly half of the newspaper's staff being laid off. The change in schedule took effect on September 30, making the following day the first time since at least 1832 the Mobile had been without a daily newspaper. It is currently the third-largest city in the nation as such, behind New Orleans and Birmingham. The newspaper announced that it would shut down and cease all printing in February 2023.
See also
*
List of newspapers in Alabama
This is a list of newspapers in Alabama, United States. The first title was produced in 1811, and "by 1850, there were 82 newspapers in Alabama, of which nine were dailies."
Daily and nondaily newspapers (currently published)
The following are dai ...
References
External links
al.com's ''Press-Register'' Site*
Mobile, Ala., ''Register'' Changes Name to the ''Press-Register'' a March 2006 ''
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, ...
'' article
*
{{Advance Publications
Newspapers published in Alabama
Companies based in Mobile, Alabama
Mass media in Mobile, Alabama
Advance Publications
Publications established in 1813
Daily newspapers published in the United States
Newspapers published in Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi