Howard Publications

Howard Publications was a family-owned company of newspapers in the United States. It was based in Oceanside, California and owned 16 daily newspapers when it sold to Lee Enterprises for $694 million in 2002.[1]

History

Origins

Robert "Bob" Staples Howard was born on October 23, 1924. His parents operated a small weekly newspaper in Wheaton, Minnesota called the Wheaton Gazette. Bob Howard left the University of Minnesota to serve as a Second lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps flying bombers in the South Pacific during World War II. He earned a Purple Heart after being shot down in the Battle of Leyte. After the war, he returned to University and then helped his widowed mother operate the Gazette.[2]

Howard then worked for a number of papers across the country until he purchased the Dalles Chronicle in December 1948.[3] Scripps League Newspapers became a co-owner with Howard in June 1949, with the joint-venture called Western Publishing Company.[4] In October 1949, Western Publishing purchased a stake in the Tribune Journal Company, which published the Idaho State Journal. Howard then moved from The Dalles, Oregon to Pocatello, Idaho to help manage the business.[5][6] After moving, Howard helped manage the Daily Inter Lake in Montana, which Scripps owned.[2]

In October 1955, Howard purchased the Chester Times,[7] which was later renamed to the Delaware County Daily Times.[8] This acquisition marked the start of the Howard Publications newspaper chain.[2] At this time Howard left Scripps and disposed of any interests he had with the company.[7]

Expansion

In August 1958, Howard became co-owner of The Glasgow Courier.[9] He sold the Daily Times in June 1961.[10] He then purchased the Casper Tribune-Herald and Casper Morning Star in October 1961,[8] The Times of Northwest Indiana in May 1962,[11] sold The Glasgow Courier in March 1964, and Logansport Pharos-Tribune in January 1966.[12] Howard became co-owner of Coastline Publishers in September 1966. The company published The Coastline Dispatch, San Clemente Sun-Post and Dana Point Lamplighter.[13] The subsidiary purchased the San Clemente Independent in January 1967.[14]

Howard Publications acquired the Oceanside Blade-Tribune in March 1967,[15] Twin Falls Times-News in April 1968,[16] Carlisle Sentinel in May 1968,[17] The Post-Star and The Glens Falls Times in December 1970.[18] Howard became of co-owner of the Sioux City Journal with Hagadone Corporation, an affiliate of Scripps League Newspapers, in December 1971.[19] The company then acquired the Corning Leader in May 1972,[20] Times-Courier in December 1972,[21] Journal Gazette in March 1973,[22][23] The Auburn Citizen in July 1975,[24] Freeport Journal Standard in September 1976,[25] San Dieguito Citizen in May 1979,[26] The Ledger Independent in October 1980,[27] The Times and Democrat in May 1981,[28] Waterloo Courier and Cedar Falls Record in January 1983.[29] The Oceanside Blade-Tribune, San Dieguito Citizen and two other papers were merged to form the North County Blade-Citizen in June 1989.[30] Howard purchased The Longview Daily News in June 1999.[31]

Sells-off

In March 1993, Howard sold the San Clemente Sun-Post to Freedom Communications.[32] In July 1995, Howard agreed to acquire the Times Advocate Company, a subsidiary of Tribune Company. The sale included the Escondido Times-Advocate, The Californian of Temecula, and The Enterprise of Fallbrook. Howard operated a subsidiary called South Coast Newspapers, which published the North County Blade-Citizen of Oceanside.[33] The Times-Advocate and Blade-Citizen were merged to form the North County Times.[34]

In August 1995, Howard traded the Logansport Pharos-Tribune to Thomson Corporation in exchange for The Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger, later renamed to the Vidette Times.[35] On February 12, 2002, Lee Enterprises announced that it would acquire Howard Publications for $694 million, with a closing later that year.[36] At the time of the sale, Howard employed 2,400 people, and its papers had a total daily circulation of 479,000.[36] Company founder R.S. Howard died in February 2022.[2]

List of previously owned newspapers

Name Location Year acquired Fate
Casper Star-Tribune Casper, Wyoming 1961 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
The Citizen Auburn, New York 1975 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
The Daily News Longview, Washington 1999 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
Delaware County Daily Times. Chester, Pennsylvania 1955 Sold to private investors in 1961
Escondido Times-Advocate Escondido, California 1995 Merged with Blade-Citizen in 1995
The Glasgow Courier (co-owned) Glasgow, Montana 1957 Sold to private investors in 1964
Journal Gazette Mattoon, Illinois 1973 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
The Journal Standard Freeport, Illinois 1976 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
The Leader Corning, New York 1972 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
The Ledger Independent Maysville, Kentucky 1980 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
North County Times Escondido, California 1995 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
North County Blade-Citizen Oceanside, California 1989 Merged with Times-Advocate in 1995
Oceanside Blade-Tribune Oceanside, California 1967 Merged with San Dieguito Citizen in 1989
Pharos-Tribune Logansport, Indiana 1966 Sold to Thomson Corporation in 1995
The Post-Star Glens Falls, New York 1970 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
San Clemente Sun-Post San Clemente, California 1966 Sold to Freedom Communications in 1993
San Dieguito Citizen Solana Beach, California 1979 Merged with Blade-Tribune in 1989
The Sentinel Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1968 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
Sioux City Journal (half-owned) Sioux City, Iowa 1971 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
Times-Courier Charleston, Illinois 1972 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
Times-News Twin Falls, Idaho 1968 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
The Times and Democrat Orangeburg, South Carolina 1981 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
The Times of Northwest Indiana Munster, Indiana 1962 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002
The Vidette Messenger Valparaiso, Indiana 1995 Renamed to Vidette Times, later merged into Munster Times
Waterloo Courier Waterloo, Iowa 1983 Sold to Lee Enterprises in 2002

References

  1. ^ York, Tom (2 December 2019). Special Report: Wealthiest San Diegans, San Diego Business Journal (paywall) ("Robert S. Howard was for many years a North County newspaper publishing magnate. He founded Howard Publication in 1961 and built it into a chain of 19 dailies including the North County Times...")
  2. ^ a b c d "Obituaries | Robert Staples Howard". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, California. February 20, 2022. pp. A26.
  3. ^ "The Dalles Paper Changes Hands". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. December 3, 1948. p. 40.
  4. ^ "Scripps Steps In At Dalles Paper". The Oregonian. June 24, 1949. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Publisher Howard Of The Dalles And Scripps League Buy Interest In Pocatello Tribune - Post Sold". The Coeur d'Alene Press. Associated Press. September 30, 1949. p. 4.
  6. ^ "Tribune Journal In Pocatello Purchases Post". The Idaho Statesman. Associated Press. October 1, 1949. p. 14.
  7. ^ a b "Chester Times Sold To Idaho Publisher". The Daily News. Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. October 7, 1955. p. 15.
  8. ^ a b "Casper Newspapers Go to New Owners". Scottsbluff Daily Star-Herald. Associated Press. October 1, 1961. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Glascow Courier Sold To Out-Of-State Publishers". Miles City Star. Associated Press. August 3, 1958. p. 12.
  10. ^ "Delaware Co. Paper Sold | New Firm Acquires Daily Times' Stock". Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News. June 13, 1961. p. 13.
  11. ^ "New Corporation Purchases Times". The Times. Hammond, Indiana. May 29, 1962. p. 2.
  12. ^ "Interest Sold In 2 Papers". The Anderson Herald. United Press International. January 15, 1966. p. 10.
  13. ^ "Karl Wray Is Named Publisher". Coastline Dispatch. San Juan Capistrano, California. September 7, 1966. p. 1.
  14. ^ "Independent Is Sold". Sun Post News. San Clemente, California. January 4, 1967. p. 1.
  15. ^ "Braden Sells Blade-Tribune". The Californian. Salinas, California. United Press International. p. 5.
  16. ^ "Indiana Firm Buys Paper In Twin Falls". The Idaho Statesman. April 2, 1968. p. 1.
  17. ^ "Howard Buys Sentinel In Carlisle, PA". The South Bend Tribune. Associated Press. May 11, 1968. p. 12.
  18. ^ "Glen Falls Newspapers Have Been Purchased By Howard Publications, Oceanside, Calif; Carl M. Davidson Has Been Named Publisher". The Post-Star. Glens Falls, New York. December 30, 1970. Retrieved 2025-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Sale of The Journal Is Announced; John F. McGaugh to Be Publisher". The Sioux City Journal. December 14, 1971. p. 1.
  20. ^ "Corning Leader Is Sold". The Post-Star. Glens Falls, New York. Associated Press. May 31, 1972. p. 1.
  21. ^ "Coles County Paper Sold". Herald and Review. Decatur, Illinois. December 19, 1972. p. 13.
  22. ^ Sampson, Bob (March 9, 1973). "California Firm Buys Stock in Newspapers". Herald and Review. Decatur, Illinois. p. 21.
  23. ^ Sampson, Bob (October 20, 1973). "California Man Controls Newspaper". Herald and Review. Decatur, Illinois. p. 14.
  24. ^ "Citizen-Advertiser Sold to Howard". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. July 25, 1975. p. 8.
  25. ^ "Journal-Standard Sold To Howard". Freeport Journal-Standard. Freeport, Illinois. September 28, 1976. p. 1.
  26. ^ "Solana Beach-Cardiff Paper Sold". North County Times. Oceanside, California. May 18, 1979. p. 13.
  27. ^ "Maysville Publishing Co. sold to Howard Publications". The Advocate-Messenger. Danville, Kentucky. Associated Press. October 26, 1980. p. 6.
  28. ^ "Howard Publications Full T&D Owner". The Times and Democrat. Orangeburg, South Carolina. May 16, 1981. p. 1.
  29. ^ Hovelson, Jack (January 27, 1983). "Waterloo, Cedar Falls newspapers sold". The Des Moines Register. p. 3.
  30. ^ "From the publisher". North County Times. Oceanside, California. June 22, 1989. p. 1.
  31. ^ "Final papers signed for purchase of Daily News and weekly newspapers". The Cowlitz County Advocate. June 9, 1999. p. 1.
  32. ^ "San Clemente newspaper purchased". The Star-Tribune. Duarte, California. March 6, 1993. p. 6.
  33. ^ "Tribune Company agrees to sell Times Advocate". Daily Times-Advocate. July 13, 1995. p. 1.
  34. ^ Moran, Chris (December 2, 1995). "103-year paper sees new era | Circulation grows to more than 100,000". North County Times. p. 1.
  35. ^ "Publishers swap Indiana papers". The South Bend Tribune. Associated Press. August 13, 1995. p. 40.
  36. ^ a b "Lee newspapers to buy Howard Publications". Baltimore Sun. February 13, 2002. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
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