Las Cruces Sun-News

Las Cruces Sun-News
Front page of Las Cruces Sun-News on July 25, 2008
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
OwnerUSA Today Co.
FounderJames A. Spradling
EditorJessica Onsurez
(2023-present)[1]
Founded1881 (as the Rio Grande Republican) [2]
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersLas Cruces, New Mexico
Circulation22,646 Daily
23,917 Sunday (as of 2011)[3]
ISSN1081-2172
Websitelcsun-news.com

Las Cruces Sun-News, founded in 1881,[2] is a daily newspaper published in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

History

On May 21, 1881, the Rio Grande Republican was first published.[4] It was founded by James A. Spradling.[5] The Republican at different times was owned by H.D. Bowman and J.F Bonham. In 1911, Allen J. Papen sold the paper to Orrin A. Foster.[6] The paper's name was soon shortened to the Rio Grande Republic.[7]

In 1917, Mrs. Josephine Foster sold the Republic to Seymour E. Bronson and his two sons Daniel and David. The three owned The Mining Journal in Clifton, Arizona.[8] In 1923, the Bronson family merged the Republic with Organized Farming, published by the Dona Ana County Farm Bureau, to form the Rio Grande Farmer.[9] In 1934, the Bronsons expanded the Farmer into a daily and renamed it to the Las Cruces Daily News.[10]

In 1937, Morris J. Boretz and Edwin D. Minteer founded a rival paper called the Las Cruces Sun.[11] In March 1939, the Sun owners acquired the Daily News from David Bronson. The two papers were merged to form the Las Cruces Sun-News.[12] A month later, Wallace Perry bought the paper from Boretz and Minteer.[13] After a few days, on the day ownership was to officially be transferred, Minteer re-acquired the paper from Perry.[14] Perry later announced he had gotten sick and reached an agreement to re-purchase the paper on a later date.[15]

Perry owned the Sun-News for seven years. In 1946, he sold it to Orville E. Priestley and James H. Skewes, owners of the Artesia Advocate.[16][17] In 1956, the two sold off the Advocate to a rival publisher.[18] In 1958, Skewes died,[19] and a year later his widow sold their company stock to Priestley.[20] In 1967, Priestley died.[21] In 1970, his widow Opal Lee Priestley sold the Sun-News to Worrell Enterprises Inc.[22]

In 1989, Garden State Newspapers, a subsidiary of MediaNews Group, acquired the paper. At that time circulation was 20,000.[23] The Sun-News later became part of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership, a joint venture formed in 2003 between MediaNews Group and Gannett, with MediaNews Group the managing partner.[24] In 2015, Gannett acquired full ownership of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership.[25] Since 2023, Jessica Onsurez has served as news director for Sun-News and the other Gannett-owned papers in New Mexico.[26]

References

  1. ^ Willis, Damien (January 2, 2023). "Onsurez takes over as news director of Las Cruces Sun-News". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Las Cruces Sun-News". Gannett. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  3. ^ "eCirc for Newspapers". Audit Bureau of Circulations. September 30, 2011. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012.
  4. ^ "Salutatory". Las Cruces Sun-News. May 21, 1881. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Notice". Arizona Weekly Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. May 29, 1881. p. 3.
  6. ^ "Orrin A. Foster Buys Rio Grande Republican". El Paso Herald. El Paso, Texas. February 20, 1911. p. 9.
  7. ^ "A Bum Directory". Las Cruces Sun-News. February 26, 1920. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Rio Grande Republic of Los Cruces Sold". El Paso Times. August 20, 1917. p. 7.
  9. ^ "Rio Grande Republic and Organized Farming Consolidate Under New Name of Rio Grande Farmer". Las Cruces Sun-News. March 1, 1923. p. 1.
  10. ^ "The Las Cruces Daily News". Alamogordo Daily News. September 20, 1934. p. 2.
  11. ^ "New Las Cruces Paper Well Received Here". The Deming Headlight. October 7, 1937. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Las Cruces Sun Buys Daily News | Afternoon and Sunday Paper Is Planned". Albuquerque Journal. Associated Press. March 3, 1939. p. 5.
  13. ^ "Sun-News Sold". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Associated Press. May 1, 1939. p. 8.
  14. ^ "Las Cruces Sun-News Sold Again; Minteer Buyer". Albuquerque Journal. Associated Press. May 2, 1939. p. 9.
  15. ^ "Perry Explains Paper Buying | Says Illness Delayed His Taking Over Sun-News At Las Cruces". El Paso Herald-Post. August 2, 1939. p. 9.
  16. ^ "Priestly Takes Over Las Cruces Sun-News". The Gallup Independent. Associated Press. November 4, 1946. p. 1.
  17. ^ "Skewes and Priestly, Former Sooners, Buy Las Cruces Newspaper". Sooner State Press. Norman, Oklahoma. November 16, 1946. p. 2.
  18. ^ "Artesia Paper Sold To Rival". Alamogordo Daily News. Associated Press. May 3, 1956. p. 1.
  19. ^ "J.H. Skewes' Funeral Rites Held Thursday". Las Cruces Sun-News. May 9, 1958. p. 1.
  20. ^ "Orville Priestley Buys James Skewes Interest In Las Cruces Sun-News". Sooner State Press. Norman, Oklahoma. July 4, 1959. p. 4.
  21. ^ "Sun-News Publisher Dies in El Paso Hoy". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Associated Press. February 13, 1967. p. 1.
  22. ^ "Las Cruces paper sold". Las Vegas Optic. Associated Press. June 9, 1970. p. 6.
  23. ^ Lazorko, Catherine (August 23, 1989). "Houston company buys Las Cruces Sun-News | No major changes in works for newspaper". El Paso Times. p. 1.
  24. ^ "Gannett, MediaNews Group expand and reorganize Texas-New Mexico Partnership" (Press release). Gannett Co., Inc. December 1, 2003. Archived from the original on April 2, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  25. ^ "Gannett buys El Paso Times, 6 New Mexico papers". The Midland Reporter-Telegram. June 2, 2015. p. 3.
  26. ^ Easterling, Mike (January 19, 2023). "New Mexico native assumes top leadership position at The Daily Times". Farmington Daily Times. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.