The ''Winston-Salem Journal'' is an American, English language daily newspaper primarily serving
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
and
Forsyth County, North Carolina
Forsyth County is located in the northwest Piedmont of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,590, making it the fourth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Winston-Salem. Forsyth ...
. It also covers Northwestern
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
.
The paper is owned by
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 ...
Watauga County
Watauga County ( ) from the North Carolina Collection's website at the , and
Yadkin County
Yadkin County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,214. Its county seat is Yadkinville. Yadkin County is included in the Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also inc ...
.
The newspaper has an online presence called ''JournalNow''. ''The Journals television partner is
WGHP
WGHP (channel 8) is a television station licensed to High Point, North Carolina, United States, serving the Piedmont Triad region as an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and main ...
of
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...
. The newspaper produces several weekly sections, including Business, Food, Journal West, and Relish. It also publishes a monthly city magazine called Winston-Salem Monthly, which started in 2006 and several special editions, including Carolina Weddings, City Guide, and WS Works.
The ''Winston-Salem Journal'' has won several N.C. Press Association awards. In 2018, the paper won a Media and the Law Award of Excellence for Best Daily Article (Scott Sexton); the Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Award; and a General Excellence award for their website. In 2017, the paper won the Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year award (Allison Lee Isley), Beat News Reporting, Best Community Coverage, and more.
History
The ''Winston-Salem Journal'', started by
Charles Landon Knight
Charles Landon Knight (June 18, 1867 – September 26, 1933) was an American lawyer and newspaper publisher who represented Ohio in the United States House of Representatives from 1921-1923. His sons built his newspaper business into what would ...
, began publishing in the afternoons on April 3, 1897. The area's other newspaper, the ''Twin City Sentinel'', also was an afternoon paper. Knight moved out of the area and the ''Journal'' had several owners before publisher D.A. Fawcett made it a morning paper starting January 2, 1902.
Later that summer, the ''Journal'' began publishing on Sundays, after which Fawcett's church removed him from its membership. In 1903, A.F.W. Leslie and his son, A.V. Leslie, bought the paper. The elder Leslie, an artist and the son of an engraver, made the ''Journal'' the state's first newspaper to have photographs.
Owen Moon bought the ''Journal'' in 1925, and the ''Sentinel'', owned by Frank A. Gannett of the New York newspaper chain, in 1927.
The ''Sentinel'' began as the ''Twin City Daily'' on May 4, 1885, serving both Winston and Salem. The ''Weekly Gleaner'', founded by John Christian Blum on January 6, 1829, served the small community of Salem and was later taken over by the weekly ''Western Sentinel'', the first newspaper in Winston on May 16, 1856. The ''Twin City Daily'', in turn, took over the ''Sentinel''.
:Preceding newspapers include: ''The Daily Journal (1900-190?) and Twin City Sentinel (1916-1974)
The ''Journal'' and ''Sentinel'' moved into a new building on North Marshall Street in 1927, and the Sunday edition was called ''The Journal and Sentinel''. Editor Santford Martin advocated improvements in the roads, especially in "the forgotten provinces" of Northwest North Carolina.
WSJS
WSJS (600 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and broadcasting to the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/ High Point media market. It airs a talk and sports radio format. WSJS is owned by the Truth Broadcastin ...
, an AM radio station, and later WSJS-FM and WSJS-TV, took their call letters from "Winston-Salem Journal Sentinel" because the newspapers once owned all three stations.
Attorney Gordon Gray bought the newspapers on April 30, 1937. His commitment to serving communities throughout the newspapers' coverage area continued even after
Media General
Media General was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-Dispatch' ...
Inc. purchased the newspapers in 1969.
The "Call SAM (Sentinel Answer Man)" column appeared in the ''Sentinel'' starting October 10, 1966. Bill Williams wrote the column, assisted by Christine Friedenberg, who took over in 1984. David Watson answered questions as the "Straight Answer Man" in the ''Journal'' from 1985 until his death in 2000. Ronda Bumgardner was the "Straight Answer Ma'am" from 2000 to 2009, and Tim Clodfelter became SAM in 2010. Melissa Hall became the second "Straight Answer Ma'am" in 2020.
On March 29, 1985, the ''Sentinel'' published its last edition. This meant a stronger morning newspaper, and an increase in circulation from 73,000 to over 91,000, with Sunday circulation of 106,000.
In September 1994, the ''Journal'' moved some of its operations into a new building on East 5th Street, with a
Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
press that allowed improvements in color printing.
Other publications from the ''Journal'' serve older adults, people with pets, families with children in Forsyth County schools, prospective brides and young parents.
In 2004, the paper refused to endorse a presidential candidate. The paper endorsed Democratic President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
for 2012 presidential election even though it endorsed Obama's opponent Republican Senator
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
in 2008. Its editorial-page had not endorsed a
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
presidential candidate since
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
in 1964. The paper endorsed Libertarian
Gary Johnson
Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...
for the 2016 presidential election and was the second newspaper to endorse the Libertarian candidate in this election cycle instead of either
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
or
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, the paper cited their distrust of both major candidates and of status quo politics in the American political system.
Cutbacks and sale
In August 2007, the ''Journal'' reported it was changing its daily business section and cutting five positions. Two of the positions eliminated were in the newsroom.
Many changes occurred in 2010. In April, the ''Journals parent company, Media General, announced that it was dropping all Winston-Salem-based copy editor and design positions, shifting production to consolidated editing centers in Richmond, Va., and Tampa, Fla. Media General also announced that they are going to use a portion of their $1 million of cost savings to "focus on intensified local news coverage." In October, Carl Crothers, the paper's executive editor was let go as a cost-cutting measure. On December 15, the ''Winston-Salem Journal'' fired another 18 employees, in the closing of its copy desk.
On April 9, 2012 the newspaper's parent company, Media General, listed revenue that included revenue projections "if newspaper division is sold". On May 17, 2012, Media General announced the sale of most of its newspapers to BH Media, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
On March 16, 2020, Lee Enterprises Inc. completed its $140 million purchase of BH Media publications, including the ''Journal'', all of which Lee had managed since June 2018.
Pulitzer Prizes
* 1971— Meritorious public service, staff; "primarily for their year-long campaign in print to save territory in western North Carolina and Virginia from the hazardous effects of strip mining." More details about the article are in a reprinted version of the paper's 1971 article: "Journal-Sentinel Papers Win Pulitzer Public Service Prize."
Notable staff
*
Linda Carter Brinson
Linda Sue Carter Brinson (born June 25, 1948) is an American writer, journalist, and editor. She was the first woman assistant national editor at ''The Baltimore Sun'' and the first woman editorial page editor at the ''Winston-Salem Journal''.
...
*
Joe Felmet
Joseph Andrew Felmet (May 31, 1921 – 1994) was an American journalist, pacifist, and civil rights activist. He worked as a reporter for ''The Hartford Times'' and the ''Winston-Salem Journal''. He participated in the Journey of Reconciliation ...
*
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in ...
See also
*
List of newspapers in North Carolina
There have been newspapers in North Carolina since the ''North-Carolina Gazette'' began publication in the Province of North Carolina in 1751. As of January 2020, there were approximately 260 newspapers in publication in North Carolina. While pr ...