Speidel Newspapers
Speidel Newspapers, Inc. was an American newspaper publisher with properties in the west and midwestern United States. It announced a merger with Gannet in 1976 that grew the combined company to 73 newspapers.[1][2]
History
[edit]The company was founded as Merritt Speidel and associates by Merritt C. Speidel in 1921 with the help of John Ben Snow.[3]
The company started with the Iowa City Press-Citizen.[4] In 1936, the company bought the Fort Collins Express-Courier which would become the Fort Collins Coloradoan.[5] It added the Poughkeepsie Evening Star and Enterprise and the Poughkeepsie Morning Eagle-News (predecessors of the Poughkeepsie New Yorker) in 1941.[6] The Visalia Times-Delta became the company's 7th newspaper in 1948.[7]
Speidel retired from his namesake company in 1956.[8] He died four years later in 1960. At the time, the group included the Poughkeepsie New Yorker, Chillicothe Gazette, the Evening Gazette and Evening State Journal, Fort Collins Coloradoan, the Sailinas Daily Californian, and the Visalia Times-Delta.[4]
Speidel was the target of a potential takeover attempt by Thomson Newspapers in 1974 which it took steps to block.[9]
When it merged with Gannett in 1976, 13 newspapers were part of the company.[10] At the time, the newspapers included the St. Cloud Times, the Argus Leader, the Fort Collins Coloradoan, the Record, the Fremont Tribune, and others.[11][12]
When it merged with Gannett, Speidel consisted of the following newspapers:
- Iowa City Press-Citizen
- Poughkeepsie New Yorker
- Chillicothe Gazette
- Evening Gazette and Evening State Journal
- Fort Collins Coloradoan
- Sailinas Daily Californian
- Visalia Times-Delta
- St. Cloud Times
- Argus Leader
- Fort Collins Coloradoan
- Record
- Fremont Tribune
References
[edit]- ^ "Speidel Newspapers Agrees in Principle to Join With Gannett in a $173 Million Deal". The New York Times. December 21, 1976. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ "$173 million merger includes 67 papers". St. Joseph Gazette. Associated Press. December 21, 1976.
- ^ "J. B. SNOW, FOUNDER OF SPEIDEL PAPERS". The New York Times. January 23, 1973. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ a b "Merritt C. Speidel Dies at 80; Founded Group of Newspapers". Poughkeepsie Journal. Vol. 175, no. 230. March 21, 1960.
- ^ Watrous, Ansel (1911). The History of Larimer County (PDF). Courier Printing & Publishing Company. pp. 158–160.
- ^ "Speidel Buying Two Newspapers". Spokane Daily Chronicle. AP. May 22, 1941. p. 16.
- ^ "Visalia Newspaper Sold To Speidel Newspaper Chain". Lodi News-Sentinel. United Press International. May 19, 1948. p. 7.
- ^ "Head of Speidel Newspapers Over Country Finally Quits". Prescott Evening Courier. November 26, 1956. p. 7.
- ^ "Speidel chain tries to block possible Thomson takeover". The Montreal Gazette. November 12, 1974. p. 34.
- ^ Clifton, Guy. "Late USA Today founder had major influence on Reno newspaper history". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
- ^ Wishart, David (ed.). "Argus Leader (Sioux Falls)". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
- ^ "Our History | St. Cloud Times". static.sctimes.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.