The Nashville Banner

The ''Nashville Banner'' is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998. The ''Banner'' was published each Monday through Friday afternoon (as well as Saturdays until the 1990s and Sundays until 1937), and at one time carried as many as five editions.

It was long a voice of conservative viewpoints in contrast to its liberal morning counterpart, '' The Tennessean'', although these views were greatly moderated in the paper's twilight years.

History

The first edition of the ''Nashville Banner'' was published on April 10, 1876. It was begun as a voice for the railroads and other interests in comparison with other area papers of the time which tended to take the viewpoint of workers and unions. It was long controlled by the Stahlman family.

The ''Banner'' was an evening paper, which at one time published as many as five editions (first, second, market final, sports final, and sunset final), although these were later consolidated into three editions, and eventually, two. For many years it was in a superior financial condition to its competitors, and in fact, when the rival ''Tennessean'' went bankrupt and almost had to cease publication, the ''Banner'' assisted in its purchase by the ''Evans'' family, who saved it. The ''Tennessean'' and the ''Banner'' entered into what was one of the first joint operating agreements in the U.S. in 1937. Under this agreement, which became a common model for many other cities over the next half-century, the papers maintained editorial independence and remained separate as news-gathering organizations. However, they were printed on the same presses, distributed by a common agent, and had a consolidated classified advertising department. They were fierce competitors in the realm of news and ideas, but no longer business competitors in the truest sense.

This arrangement stood both papers in good stead for many years. However, the ''Banner'' began to suffer in the post- World War II era from the slow loss of readership that became common to most U.S. evening papers, which was largely attributed to the rise of television.

Though the two papers shared many vital resources, they were vastly different in their editorial agendas. One memorable instance of such differences occurred during the mid-1960s as the merits of Daylight Saving Time were being debated. The ''Tennessean''/''Banner'' offices, at the time, featured a dual-sided clock on the roof. One side had the ''Tennessean'' logo, the other had the ''Banners. Silliman Evans, Jr., owner of the ''Tennessean'', supported DST and set its clock accordingly during the summer hours, but the Stahlman family, who controlled the ''Banner'', opted to keep their side of the clock on standard time, causing confusion for the many drivers and pedestrians on busy Broadway.

Ed Huddleston wrote for The Banner including coverage of the Civil War in Middle Tennessee in 1965 for the centennial of the war’s end and the fight to save the historic Bijou Theatre, demolished as part of an urban renewal plan and replaced by the Municipal Auditorium.

In the early 1970s the Stahlmans sold the ''Banner'' to the Gannett

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases