publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
of
daily
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
and
weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly ne ...
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
MaineToday's daily newspapers include the ''Portland Press Herald'' and ''Maine Sunday Telegram'' in Portland, the ''
Kennebec Journal
The ''Kennebec Journal'' is a six-day morning daily newspaper published in Augusta, Maine. It is owned by MaineToday Media, which also publishes the state's largest newspaper, the '' Portland Press Herald''.
The newspaper covers Augusta and the ...
Morning Sentinel
The ''Morning Sentinel'' is an American daily newspaper published six mornings a week in Waterville, Maine. It is owned by MaineToday Media.
The newspaper covers cities and towns in parts of Franklin, Kennebec, Penobscot and Somerset counties ...
'' in Waterville.
The company also owns ''The Coastal Journal'', a weekly newspaper in
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
. It previously published ''The Community Leader'', a weekly in Falmouth, and ''The Maine Switch'', a lifestyle and entertainment magazine in Portland.
MaineToday also owns local Maine websites dedicated to classified advertising, entertainment listings, parenting and travel, as well as a Yellow Pages site and a digital marketing service.
Gannett and Blethen
MaineToday's newspaper properties were, for most of the 20th century, the core of
Guy Gannett Communications
Guy Gannett Communications was a family-owned business consisting of newspapers in Maine and a handful of television stations in the eastern United States. The company was founded by its namesake, Guy P. Gannett, in 1921, and was managed by a fa ...
, a local family-owned business not related to the larger
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Sinclair Broadcasting."Highlights of the Week: Sept. 6-12". ''The Boston Globe'', page K2, September 13, 1998.
The Seattle Times Company
The Seattle Times Company is a privately owned publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Washington. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1896, the company is now in its fourth and fifth generations of ownership by the Blethen f ...
, an independent publisher of three dailies and several weeklies in
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...
, purchased all of Guy Gannett's newspapers for a price reported at $213 million.Mapes, Lynda V "Times Co. Completes Long-Stalled Sale of Maine Newspapers" ''The Seattle Times'', June 16, 2009.
Guy Gannett managers said they sold to the Times because of shared values—both companies were fourth-generation family-owned news organizations: "Of all the companies in the newspaper business, The Seattle Times is one most like our company in the sense of independence, of family ownership, and commitment to the community," said Guy Gannett spokesman Tim O'Meara.Wilmsen, Steven. "Seattle Times Co. Buys Maine Newspapers from Guy Gannett". ''The Boston Globe'', page D1, September 2, 1998.
The Times set up an "independent subsidiary" to run its Maine operations, called Blethen Maine Newspapers. The subsidiary was named after
Alden J. Blethen
Alden J. Blethen (December 27, 1845 – July 12, 1915) was a teacher and attorney, who was editor-in-chief of the '' Seattle Daily Times'' from August 10, 1896 Boswell 1994, p. 96 until his death. He written referred to as Colonel Blethen.
...
, ancestor of ''The Seattle Times'' owners, who was born in Knox County and grew up in
Waldo County, Maine
Waldo County is a county in the state of Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,607. Its county seat is Belfast. The county was founded on 7 February 1827 from a portion of Hancock County and named af ...
, before becoming editor in chief and owner of the ''Seattle Daily Times'' in 1896.
Sale to MaineToday Media
After more than a year on the market, on June 15, 2009, the Blethen papers were sold to MaineToday Media, Inc., headed by Maine native Richard L. Connor, publisher of ''
Times Leader
The ''Times Leader'' is a privately owned newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Founding
Founded in 1879, it was locally owned until being purchased by Capital Cities in 1978.
Early history
On November 27, 1907, the ''Wilkes-Barre Time ...
'' in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...
, with financing from
HM Capital Partners
HM Capital Partners was a private equity firm in the United States that specialized in leveraged buyouts. The firm was previously known as Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. It was founded in 1989 by Tom Hicks and John Muse as Hicks, Muse & Co. and was ...
and Citizens Bank. The company established a headquarters at One City Center in downtown Portland.
Financial details of the sale were not released, though a ''Seattle Times'' report estimated them at less than half the $213 million paid in 1998. At the time of the sale, a spokesman for The Seattle Times Company said the Maine newspapers "provided a very good return during our 10-year tenure. We were very reluctant to sell and are very sad about it. If it were not for the severe recession, we would not have done so."
As part of the sale, Portland
Newspaper Guild
The NewsGuild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's business practic ...
members took a 10 percent pay cut in exchange for 15 percent ownership in MaineToday Media.
MaineToday promised that it could put its newspapers on a sound financial footing, but over the next two and a half years there were more than 160 job cuts at the ''Press Herald'', the company was sued for failing to pay a paper bill, and the local guild president said his members "feel their investment in Rich Connor was squandered and they're angry about it. We feel the company was mismanaged."
Connor stepped down as publisher of the newspapers for undisclosed reasons in October, 2011. In April 2013, Connor was accused of misappropriation of about $530,000 of the newspapers' funds for personal expenses and unauthorized salary increases for himself. In a memo to company employees, MaineToday Media publisher Lisa DeSisto wrote the newspapers were paid $537,988.68 under the company’s employee theft insurance policy, to recoup money that she wrote "Connor took for unauthorized personal use."
Turkel, Tux. "Press Herald parent accuses former CEO of misusing more than $530,000". ''
The Portland Press Herald
The ''Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram'' is a morning daily newspaper with a website that serves southern Maine and is focused on the greater metropolitan area around Portland, Maine, in the United States.
Founded in 1862, its roots e ...
businessman Aaron Kusher, who had previously made an unsuccessful $200 million bid to buy ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', led a group that bought a controlling interest in MaineToday for an undisclosed price.Healy, Beth. "Wellesley Man Who Sought Globe Agrees to Maine Deal". ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', Page B5, January 7, 2012. The newspapers became primarily owned by financier Donald Sussman. In 2015, Sussman sold MaineToday to Reade Brower, a Maine printer and newspaper owner. Brower purchased the Sun Media Group, parent of the '' Sun Journal'' in Lewiston, in 2017.
Editorial policy
The MaineToday editorial board announced in their August 31, 2014, editorial that they would no longer endorse candidates for political office, citing a desire to avoid appearing partisan and telling readers how to vote. They stated they would continue to take positions on referendums, people's veto, and bond questions.