''The Beaumont Enterprise'' is a newspaper of

Hearst Communications Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televi ...

, headquartered in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seat of government of Jefferson County, within the Beaumont– Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston ( ...

. It has been in operation since 1880. In addition to BeaumontEnterprise.com and the daily newspaper, ''The Enterprise'' produces several weeklies—the ''Jasper Newsboy'', the ''Hardin County News'', the ''Mid County Chronicle'', the ''Orange County News'', the ''Beaumont Journal'' and the Spanish-language ''Fronteras'', as well as a bi-weekly real estate magazine and two monthly magazines, ''VIP'' and ''Lakecaster''. ''The Enterprise'' is a perennial winner of the state’s top journalism awards, including the Texas Press Association’s and Texas Associated Press Managing Editors’ prizes for overall excellence.

Prices

''Enterprise'' prices are: daily, $2; Sunday/Thanksgiving Day, $3. May be higher outside Jefferson & adjacent counties/states.

History

John W. Leonard founded the initial ''Enterprise'' as a weekly newspaper in 1880. It became a daily under editor W.W. McLeod in 1896 or 1897, to compete with crosstown rival ''Beaumont Journal'' (founded 1889). In 1907,

William P. Hobby William Pettus Hobby (March 26, 1878 – June 7, 1964) was known as the publisher/owner of the ''Beaumont Enterprise'' when he entered politics and the Democratic Party. Elected in 1914 as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, in 1917 he succeeded to ...

became manager and part owner of the ''Enterprise'' and bought the paper outright in 1920, while

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, w ...

. One of his co-owners was general manager/associate publisher James Mapes. According to the Texas State Historical Association, the ''Enterprise'' "attained national stature" under Mapes' leadership — He came to the newspaper in 1908 and rose to ownership by 1931. In 1918, Waco-based newspapermen Charles E. Marsh and E.S. Fentress purchased the crosstown competitor ''Beaumont Journal''. Buying two other nearby papers (the weekly ''

Port Arthur News ''The Port Arthur News'' is six-day morning newspaper published every day except Mondays in Port Arthur, Texas, covering Jefferson County. It is owned by Boone Newspapers. The newspaper has not missed an issue since March 17, 1897, when the Stu ...

''PAnews.com: Port Arthur News history
accessed January 20, 2007. and the daily '' Orange Leader''), the pair boosted the ''Journal'' circulation and eventually Hobby bought the ''Journal''. Operating separately under the same company for many years, the ''Enterprise'' and ''Journal'' merged in 1983.Beaumont Enterprise
/ref> The

Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, telev ...

acquired the ''Enterprise'' from the

Jefferson-Pilot Lincoln National Corporation is a ''Fortune'' 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for LNC and its subsi ...

insurance company's publications arm in 1984.The Reign of S.F.'s `Monarch of the Dailies' / Hearst media empire started with Examiner
/ref>

References

External links

Official Site

Hearst subsidiary profile of ''The Beaumont Enterprise''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont Enterprise Daily newspapers published in Texas Hearst Communications publications Jefferson County, Texas Newspapers established in 1880