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The Columbus Dispatch

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For the daily newspaper published in Columbus, Mississippi, see The Commercial Dispatch.
The Columbus Dispatch
The November 5, 2008 front page of
The Columbus Dispatch
TypeDaily newspaper
Formatcompact, three-around
Owner(s)Gannett
PublisherGannett
EditorBeryl Love (interim)
Founded1871; 153 years ago (1871)
Headquarters62 E Broad St
Columbus, Ohio 43215
US
Circulation
  • 35,235 daily
  • 48,899 Sunday
(as of 2022)[1]
ISSN1074-097X
Websitedispatch.com
Current offices on Broad Street

The Columbus Dispatch is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since The Columbus Citizen-Journal ceased publication in 1985.

As of November 2019, Alan D. Miller is the newspaper's interim general manager.[2]

History

The paper was founded in June 1871 by a group of 10 printers with US$900 in financial capital. The paper published its first issue as The Daily Dispatch on July 1, 1871, as a four-page paper which cost 4¢ (102¢ in 2023) per copy. The paper was originally an afternoon paper for the city of Columbus, Ohio, which at the time had a population of 32,000. For its first few years, the paper rented a headquarters on North High Street and Lynn Alley in Columbus. It began with 800 subscribers.[3]

On April 2, 1888, the paper published its first full-page advertisement, for the Columbus Buggy Company. In 1895, the paper moved its headquarters to the northeast corner of Gay and High streets, a larger building on a site which was previously a grocer. On April 10, the paper published a 72-page edition to mark the move. On December 17, 1899, the paper published its first Sunday edition, a 36-page paper which cost 3¢ (110¢ in 2023), and the daily editions were reduced in price to 2¢ (73¢ in 2023). Two years later on March 3, 1901, the paper published its first color comic strips.[3]

The paper, renamed The Columbus Evening Dispatch, changed hands several times in its early years. In 1905, it was purchased by brothers Harry Preston Wolfe and Robert Frederick Wolfe, who originally ran a shoe company. It was not the Wolfes' first entry into journalism; they had purchased the Ohio State Journal two years before. The Dispatch would remain in the hands of the Wolfe family for 110 years. On December 16, 1906, the paper published its first color ad, for Beggs Store. On April 9, 1907, the Dispatch offices were destroyed in a fire, and the building was demolished and rebuilt. In the interlude, the paper ran its offices out of 34/36 North High Street.[3]

The paper's editorial staff traditionally has had a conservative slant.[4][5][6] Until it endorsed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, the paper's last endorsement of a Democrat as a Presidential candidate had been for the re-election of Woodrow Wilson in 1916.[7] The Dispatch endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland in the 2006 Ohio elections,[8] but endorsed John Kasich, the Republican candidate running against his reelection, in 2010[9]

A competing paper, The Columbus Citizen-Journal (known locally as the "C-J", pronounced "See-Jay") was beholden to the Columbus Dispatch for its printing facilities, and controversy surrounded the C-J's demise in 1985.

In a sale announced on June 3, 2015, ownership of the Dispatch was transferred to the GateHouse Media subsidiary of New Media Investment Group.[10] With New Media's 2019 acquisition of Gannett, GateHouse Media was rebranded as Gannett, the name under which the Dispatch is currently held.

The Dispatch Broadcast Group, comprising WBNS-AM-FM-TV in Columbus and NBC affiliate WTHR (channel 13) in Indianapolis, remained in the hands of the Wolfe family until 2019, when it was sold to Tegna, Inc., which promptly absorbed the firm.[11][12]

Sections and features

The Columbus Dispatch Building, former home to the newspaper

The sections of the Dispatch include the Front Section, Nation & World, Metro & State, Business, Sports and Life & Arts. The Food section is included in the Wednesday paper, while Science is published on Sundays. The Weekender section is included in the Thursday paper. A Faith & Values section is included in the Friday paper. Sunday sections include Arts & Leisure, At Home, Insight and comics.

Magazines

The Columbus Dispatch also owns the magazines Columbus Monthly, Columbus CEO, Columbus Weddings, Columbus Monthly Home & Garden, Columbus Alive, and Columbus Parent.

See also

References

  1. ^ Gannett. "Form 10-K". Securities & Exchange Commission. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Dispatch publisher Brad Harmon resigns; editor Alan Miller named interim general manager - Business - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH". Archived from the original on 2019-11-20.
  3. ^ a b c Deitch, Linda (July 28, 2011), Memorable milestones in Columbus Dispatch history, The Columbus Dispatch, retrieved October 19, 2011
  4. ^ Lucia Moses, "The Columbus Dispatch", Brandweek, April 30, 2001
  5. ^ "CNN Sunday Morning" [transcript], CNN, October 24, 2004
  6. ^ Terry Smith, "Wearing Thin: Thanks for your letters! Without you, this page would be, yikes, just me", Athens News, January 10, 2005
  7. ^ Kevin Anderson, "Papers back Kerry — but does that help?", BBC News, October 26, 2004
  8. ^ "For governor: Strickland has qualities needed to promote cooperation, progress", Columbus Dispatch, Sunday, October 8, 2006
  9. ^ "Endorsement: Kasich for governor", Columbus Dispatch, Monday October 11, 2010.
  10. ^ Malone, JD (2015-06-16). "New Media completes acquisition of 'Dispatch'". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  11. ^ Weiker, Jim (June 11, 2019). "Wolfe family sells broadcast group, including WBNS-TV, for $535 million". The Columbus Dispatch. GateHouse Media. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "TEGNA Completes Acquisition of Dispatch Broadcast Group’s Leading, Top Ranked Stations in Indianapolis, IN and Columbus, OH", Tegna Inc., August 8, 2019, Retrieved August 8, 2019.
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