''The News-Gazette'' is a daily newspaper serving eleven counties in the eastern portion of

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agri ...

and specifically the

Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area The Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, also known as Champaign–Urbana and Urbana–Champaign as well as Chambana (colloquially), is a metropolitan area in east-central Illinois. As defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the ...

. Since November 2019 it is published daily Tuesday through Sunday. Based in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

, the paper is owned, along with sister radio stations

WDWS WDWS (1400 AM) is a commercial radio station in Champaign, Illinois, calling itself "Newstalk Radio 1400 & 93.9FM DWS." It airs a News/Talk radio format and is owned by ''The News-Gazette'', the primary daily newspaper in the Champaign-Urbana M ...

WKIO WKIO (107.9 FM, "Classic Hits 107.9") is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Arcola, Illinois, the station is owned by ''The News-Gazette'', and serves the Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area. On weekday m ...

and

WHMS WHMS-FM (97.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Champaign, Illinois. It broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for part of November and December. WHMS-FM calls itself "Lite Rock 97.5" and is owned b ...

, by Community Media Group, Inc., which purchased it in November 2019 after the paper filed for bankruptcy.

History

The paper traces its history to the ''Urbana Union'', founded in 1852. By the turn of the century, it had moved to Champaign and become the ''Champaign Daily News.'' In 1919, David W. Stevick, owner and publisher of the ''Daily News'', bought the ''Champaign Daily Gazette'' and merged them into the current paper. He died in 1935 and passed it to his widow, Helen M. Stevick. Helen died in 1967 and was succeeded by her daughter, Marajen Stevick Chinigo, who ran the paper until her death in 2002. In 1979, the paper's longtime rival, the '' Champaign-Urbana Courier'', ceased publication. This left Champaign with only one daily newspaper for the first time. From its founding until June 2009, the ''News-Gazette'' published its main edition in the afternoon. The paper was well known in the area as being one of the few afternoon papers left. Beginning in the late 1990s, the paper printed an edition specifically geared towards Champaign and Urbana that was published in the morning. Due to the decreasing revenue from print advertising, the ''News-Gazette'' switched to morning publication only on June 1, 2009. Since 1937, it has been co-owned with the area's oldest commercial radio station,

. An FM sister was added in 1949; it is now

. Another rock station, WUIL (now

), was purchased in May 2010. The ''News-Gazette'' has a circulation ranging from 22,000–30,000 (depending on the day of the week). The ''News-Gazette'' is well-known and acclaimed for its sports section. It has consistently ranked among the top sports sections among small markets in the country. Loren Tate, a Champaign sports writer and broadcaster, has been covering the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

for the ''News-Gazette'' and WDWS since 1965. Led by sports editor Matt Daniels, The ''News-Gazette's'' sports section in 2021 captured its first Triple Crown — top 10 in daily, Sunday and special sections — in the Associated Press Sports Editors' annual contest. The ''News-Gazette'' has consistently been an Illinois Press Association award-winning newspaper for editorial and advertising excellence. The newsroom has been honored with IPA's Mabel S. Shaw Memorial Trophy an unprecedented seven consecutive times under vice president of news Jim Rossow and editor Jeff D'Alessio. Additionally, The ''News-Gazette'' has been named one of Editor & Publisher's 10 Newspapers That Do It Right three times in that span in addition to three honorable mentions. Since 2008, The ''News-Gazettes advertising department has been awarded the Illinois Press Association's Annual James S. Copley Memorial Sweepstakes Award for Daily Newspaper Advertising Excellence 6 times. This is considered to be the top honor available and is awarded for overall excellence in advertising. The newspaper's website () is the most viewed commercial website in East Central Illinois. It is viewed by around 30,000–35,000 unique visitors a day, and receives 3.5 million page views per month. On April 11, 2017, the ''News-Gazette'' announced plans to phase out its local printing and packaging operations by mid-summer 2017. The Journal Star in Peoria would provide all printing and packaging services, and the move would eliminate approximately 35 full- and part-time positions. News-Gazette Media filed for bankruptcy on August 30, 2019, and announced the purchase of the company's assets by Community Media Group, Inc., which owns several community newspapers throughout the country. The sale was finalized on November 10, 2019, at which point the ''News-Gazette'' ceased publishing its Monday print edition. The paper relocated to a smaller office building in Champaign in April 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana) Newspapers published in Illinois Publications established in 1852 Champaign, Illinois 1852 establishments in Illinois