he promise as his flagship newspaper and to recall that heritage with a couple of photos and a chronology:April 15, 1839: The first edition of the Summit Beacon Journal is published.
June 7, 1897: After several decades of mergers, first edition of the Akron Beacon Joumal is published.
1903: The Beacon Journal is sold to Maj. T. J. Kirkpatrick and Charles Landon Knight.
1907: Knight buys out Kirkpatrick.
1911: Knight becomes editor and moves the plant to a new building at East Market Street and Broadway.
March 24, 1921: The name of John S. Knight, son of C.L. Knight, appears on the Beacon Journal masthead for the first time.
Sept., 26, 1933: C.L. Knight dies.
Dec. 2, 1936: John S. Knight writes his first Editor's Notebook, beginning a series that runs until 1975; the column wins him a Pulitzer Prize in 1968.
Aug. 19, 1938: Knight buys the Akron Times-Press and merges with Beacon Journal.
1937: John S. Knight buys the Miami Herald, beginning the string of purchases that lead to Knight Ridder Newspapers.
March 31, 1973: Beacon Journal reaches a daily circulation peak of 176,929.
1974: Knight Newspapers Inc. and Ridder Publications Inc. merge.
June 16, 1981: John S. Knight dies.
July 13, 1987: The Beacon Journal switches from afternoon to morning
publication.
October 2005: Bruce Sherman, head of Florida money-management firm Private Capital Management, Knight Ridder's largest investor, tells the company to put itself up for sale because of poor stock performance.
March 2006: Deal is announced to sell Knight Ridder to McClatchy Co., which immediately announces a plan to sell 12 of the 32 papers including the Beacon Journal.
June 7, 2006: Sound Publishing Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Black Press Ltd., agrees to buy the Beacon Journal.
JSK and Fran. What a fitting way to remember the ol' gal (I'm talking about the BJ, but the other ol' gal was rather magnificent, too).
ReplyDeleteJSK, Fran, Ben M., Pat and Harry were the highlights of my 43-year newspaper career. And don't forget the WVU bloc at the BJ: Scott, Tom M. (Melody and Moore, by way of Bluefield), Bonnie B. and, of course, me. And, more important, the West Virginia bloc among the BJ's readers. At one time, the BJ estimated that 25 percent of its readers had a West Virginia connection, much of that because of the Reading, 'riting and Route 21 exodus from the Mountain State to Akron during and after World War II, with the lure of the rubber shops.