''The Telegraph,'' frequently called The Macon Telegraph, is the primary print news organ in

Middle Georgia Central Georgia is the area containing the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Macon, in Bibb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It abuts the Atlanta metropolitan area, just to the north. Similar and coextensive names for this region ...

. It is the third-largest newspaper in the State of Georgia (after the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' and '' Augusta Chronicle''). Founded in 1826, ''The Telegraph'' has undergone several name changes, mergers, and publishers. As of June 2006, the paper is owned by

The McClatchy Company The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states an ...

, a

publicly traded A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( l ...

American publishing company.

The Telegraph's Name Changes

History

Origins: 1826-1860

Dr. Myron Barlett (1798-1848) founded ''The Macon Telegraph'' and published its first edition on Wednesday, November 1, 1826, three years after the Georgia General Assembly chartered the city of Macon. In his "prospectus" on the front page of that Nov. 1 edition, Bartlett said in part that the Telegraph would "not only disseminate useful information but advocate fearlessly "THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE!" The newspaper ran weekly at first (Bartlett didn’t begin publishing a daily until 1831). All the type was set by hand and it was a full-sheet affair. The columns were mostly short items copied from other newspapers. By 1827, ''The Macon Telegraph'' was one out of 16 newspapers in Georgia, two of which ran in Macon, two in Savannah, four in Milledgeville, three in Augusta, one in Athens, one in Washington, one in Darien, and one in Mount Zion. The first daily ''Macon Telegraph,'' called ''Daily Macon Telegraph'' was printed Oct. 17, 1831. It lasted a little more than a year before transforming into a semi-weekly that was re-named ''Georgia Telegraph.'' The first cartoon in ''The Telegraph'' appeared in the Sept. 22, 1840 edition. On Nov. 17, 1846, the ''Macon Telegraph'' announced that "all market quotations were being received by Magnetic Telegraph." A century later, the newspaper carried the following comment about The Telegraph "The magnetism of this new and time-saving invention had created a great deal of excitement and people everywhere were conjecturing as to what would be the benefits and final unbelievable accomplishments of Morse's find."

American Civil War: 1861-1865

''Macon Telegraph'' continued to print during 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 state ...

, shrinking down to a single sheet in April 1863 until the end of the war due to a paper shortage. On Sept. 19, 1864, Clisby sold ''The Telegraph'' to Henry L. Flash, who consolidated ''The Daily Confederate'' (a newspaper founded in Macon in 1863) with ''The Telegraph.'' The new name of the paper was ''Macon Daily Telegraph and Confederate.'' On April 20, 1865, ''The Telegraph'' was temporarily suspended on account of the occupation of the city by the Federals. The editor fled his establishment and left it in charge of the printers, who did not attempt to bring out the regular editions, but two or three numbers of a small sheet called "The Daily News." The Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel had heard of Macon's occupation and, in the absence of the editors of 'The Telegraph and Confederate,' they took possession of the office and are issued a paper called ''The Daily News.'' ''The Telegraph'' was resumed May 11 under the new ownership of Clayton and Dumble. The subscription rate fell from $120 a year to $12, even though the sheet was gotten out under the great difficulties. The Confederate ink and paper was used and it was practically impossible to issue a typographically neat page. On May 28, ''The Telegraph'' appeared in full four-sheet form and announced it would continue doing so until the resumption of mail service, when the full paper would be issued daily instead of Sundays only.

Pre-Anderson Era: 1866-1900

In 1866, Clayton and Dumble sold the newspaper to William A. Reid. In 1869, ''The Journal and Messenger'' was amalgamated with ''The Telegraph'' under the name ''Telegraph and Messenger.'' It was the fifth paper ''The Telegraph'' absorbed since it was founded. Other papers include ''The Courier'', ''Citizen'', ''Republic'' and ''Confederate.'' In 1873, the name of the paper was changed to the ''Daily Telegraph and Messenger.'' The word "messenger" was dropped from its name in 1885.

The Anderson Era: 1900s

By 1900, there were 24 daily newspapers in Georgia, six semi-weeklies, one bi-weekly , 29 monthlies and 274 weeklies. In 1914, the Anderson brothers, William T. and Peyton T., purchased the paper. P.T. Anderson had started working in the circulation department in 1909. Under their leadership, the paper inaugurated a special page focusing on the

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

community. They also purchased ''The Macon News'' and combined some staff positions between the two papers. The ''News'' continued to publish in the afternoon, while ''The Telegraph'' remained the morning paper. W.T. Anderson published and edited The Macon Telegraph until 1940. In 1946, P.T. Anderson's son, Peyton, took over the papers. He became known for giving his editors great freedom to report the facts, as well as being a "pillar of the community". He sold ''The Telegraph'' and ''News'' in 1969 to

Knight Newspapers 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 ...

, and retired to oversee his investments. Following his death in 1988, the bulk of his fortune, approximately $35 million, was left in his will to start one of Macon's major

charitable foundation A foundation (also a charitable foundation) is a category of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that typically provides funding and support for other charitable organizations through grants, but may also engage directly in charitable ac ...

s, The Peyton Anderson Foundation.

Corporate ownership

The new ownership merged with Ridder Publications in 1974 to create

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 bra ...

. At the same time, the Saturday editions of
The Telegraph
' and ''News'' merged. A new ''The Macon Telegraph and News'' was published as a morning paper seven days a week. During this era, Randall Savage and Jackie Crosby earned the paper its lone Pulitzer Prize to date in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

for an investigation into academic and athletics at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. The paper changed its name back to ''The Macon Telegraph'' in 1990, bringing over a century of ''The Macon News'' to an end.

Age of the internet, 2000s

In 2005, the name "Macon" was also dropped from the

masthead Masthead may refer to: * Nameplate (publishing), the banner name on the front page of a newspaper or periodical (UK "masthead") * Masthead (American publishing), details of the owners, publisher, departments, officers, contributors and address d ...

, and the name of the newspaper became ''The Telegraph''. The following year, Knight Ridder was sold to

the McClatchy Company The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states an ...

, bringing the newspaper under a new owner once again.

Products

Print Newspaper

The newspaper is printed in broadsheet format. ''The Telegraph'' prices are: daily, $1.50 & Sunday, $3. Price includes

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a gove ...

at newsracks; may be higher outside Bibb & adjacent counties. The newspaper is cheaper for subscribers.

Website

The Telegraph's digital traffic saw an average of over five million page views in 2018. Digital-only subscriptions are available to readers for $15.99 per month. Educational subscriptions are available to students and educators at a discounted rate.

External links

Macon.com: The Telegraph official siteOfficial mobile site
* ttp://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/telegraph Macon Telegraph ArchiveDigital Library of Georgia

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{McClatchy Newspapers published in Georgia (U.S. state) McClatchy publications Knight Ridder Mass media in Macon, Georgia Newspapers established in 1826 1826 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)