United Communications Corporation (UCC) was a privately owned operator of three television stations in the U.S. states of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and New York. The company was the publisher of the ''

Kenosha News The ''Kenosha News'' is a daily newspaper published in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States. With a circulation of 18,000 daily and 22,000 Sunday, the morning paper serves southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois. It was the original and fla ...

'' of

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

and two other daily newspapers.

History

Founded in 1961 by the Brown family, upon its purchase of the ''News'', the company added a Massachusetts newspaper in the 1970s, buying two competing newspapers—the ''Attleboro Sun'' and ''North Attleborough Chronicle''—and merging them into ''

The Sun Chronicle ''The Sun Chronicle'' (formerly ''The Attleboro Sun'' and the ''Evening Chronicle'') is a daily newspaper in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United States. Most of its readers are in Attleboro and North Attleborough, Massachusetts, but it also covers nea ...

''."Family Tradition Will Continue in Watertown, SD"
. Press release, Dirks, Van Essen and Murray. March 31, 2002. Accessed February 26, 2007. UCC then entered the television business through two sales mandated by

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

(FCC) competition rules. The ''

Watertown Daily Times The ''Watertown Daily Times'' is a newspaper published six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday, in Watertown, New York. It provides coverage of Jefferson County, Lewis County, St. Lawrence County and Oswego County. It was founded in 1861 and ...

'' of

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by th ...

, sold

WWNY-TV WWNY-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Carthage, New York, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Watertown area. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Fox affiliate WNYF-CD (channel 28). ...

for $8.2 million in 1981; the national media chain

Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...

sold

KEYC-TV KEYC-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Mankato, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with CBS and Fox. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, dual NBC/ CW+ affiliate KMNF-LD (channel 7). Both stations share stu ...

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

, in 1977. In the 21st century, UCC added its last two properties, founding WNYF-LP, a low-power television station in

, in 2001, and a year later buying the '' Watertown Public Opinion'' in eastern

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

. Owner and President Howard J. Brown died April 29, 2011. In March 2013, his daughter Lucy Brown Minn was named president of the company. Her mother, Elizabeth K. Brown, serves as chairwoman of the board.

Former Properties

Newspapers

* ''

,'' acquired 1961, sold 2019. *''

Attleboro, Massachusetts Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, Attleboro had a population ...

,'' acquired 1970, sold 2018. *'' Watertown Public Opinion'' of

Watertown, South Dakota Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center which houses many of the original art works produced by Terry Redlin, one of America's most popular wildlife ...

, acquired 2002, sold 2016.

Television

, a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

(DT1) and

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

(DT2) affiliate, of

, acquired 1977, sold in 2019. *

, a CBS affiliate, of

, acquired 1981, sold in 2019. *

WNYF-CD WNYF-CD (channel 28) is a low-power, Class A television station in Watertown, New York, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Carthage-licensed CBS affiliate WWNY-TV (channel 7). Both station ...

, a Fox affiliate, of Watertown, New York, founded 2001, sold in 2019.

References

{{Gray TV United Communications Corporation Gray Television Defunct broadcasting companies of the United States Defunct newspaper companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1961 Mass media companies disestablished in 2019 Companies based in Wisconsin Privately held companies based in Wisconsin Publishing companies established in 1961 2019 mergers and acquisitions Kenosha, Wisconsin American companies disestablished in 2019 American companies established in 1961