Austin American-Statesman

Last updated

Austin American-Statesman
Austin American-Statesman (2019-10-31).svg
Front page of the Austin American-Statesman, May 30, 2024.png
Front page of the Austin American-Statesman, May 30, 2024
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) Gannett Co., Inc (a division of Fortress Investment Group
Founded1871;153 years ago (1871) (as the Democratic Statesman)
Headquarters8000 Metropolis Drive Building A. STE. 100
Austin, Texas 78744
Circulation
  • 26,455 Daily
  • 33,699 Sunday
(as of 2022) [1]
ISSN 1553-8451
Website www.statesman.com

The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Gannett Co., Inc.

Contents

The distribution of the following The New York Times , The Washington Post , Associated Press , and USA TODAY international and national news, but also incorporates strong Central Texas coverage, especially in political reporting. The Statesman benefits from the culture and writing heritage of Austin. It extensively covers the music scene, especially the annual South by Southwest Music Festival. The newspaper co-sponsors Austin events such as the Capital 10K, one of the largest 10K runs in the U.S., and the Season for Caring charity campaign. In the Austin market, the Statesman competes with the Austin Chronicle , an alternative weekly.

Circulation

In 2009, the Austin American-Statesman ranked 60th in circulation among daily newspapers, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. [2] Figures from Scarborough Research show the Statesman — in print and online – reaches 68% of Central Texans in an average week. [3]

Following a national trend among daily newspapers, the Statesman has seen drastic circulation declines in recent years. Austin is one of America's most internet-connected cities, though not ranked in the 25 largest "connected" cities, and in a related trend, the Statesman's daily circulation ranks among those cities seeing drops of 5% or more in recent reports. [4] As compared to a U.S. national decline of 2.1%, the Statesman's daily circulation in the most recent six-month reporting period fell 5.6% to 173,527. Its Sunday circulation fell 5.5% to 215,984. Austin is the 11th-largest city (and the 35th-largest metropolitan area) in the U.S.

Politics

The Statesman endorsed George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, [5] and Republican governor Rick Perry along with every other Republican incumbent in 2006.[ citation needed ] In the 2008 presidential election, however, the paper endorsed Barack Obama. [5] The Statesman also provides coverage of Libertarian Party and Green Party matters.

History

Founded as the triweekly [6] Democratic Statesman in 1871, the newspaper was originally allied with the state Democratic party during Reconstruction. It began daily publication as a morning paper in 1873. After absorbing the Austin Tribune in 1914, it published as the afternoon Austin Statesman and Tribune, then became an evening paper and changed its name to the Austin Evening Statesman in 1916. [7]

A rival paper, the morning Austin American, began in 1914. Waco-based newspapermen Charles E. Marsh and E.S. Fentress bought the American in 1919 and the Evening Statesman in 1924. Merged under one company, the morning and evening papers published separately during the week and combined for a Sunday Austin American Statesman edition. The company continued separate titles until 1973, when all products became the American-Statesman, with four editions daily. [7]

Cox Enterprises acquired the Statesman when it bought the Waco newspaper company in 1976. In 1987, the Statesman moved to morning-only publication. [7] In 2008, Cox put the Statesman up for sale with most of its other newspaper holdings to pay down debt. [8] A year later, the company pulled the paper off the market, citing a lack of suitable offers. [9]

The newspaper was part of the subsidiary Cox Media Group, which joined the corporation's television, radio, and newspaper assets under one umbrella in 2008. [10]

The Statesman was named Texas Associated Press Managing Editors' Newspaper of the Year in 2013, 2014, and 2016, [11] besting Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. [12] [13] [14]

In 2015, ¡Ahora Sí! was named the best Spanish-language newspaper in the country for its circulation size by the National Association of Hispanic Publishers. [15]

On March 6, 2018, the sale of the Statesman to GateHouse Media from Cox Media Group was announced. [16] Upon taking over in April, GateHouse said the Statesman would be the "flagship" of the expanding chain, noting its existing 240-employee design and editing hub in Austin. [17]

Becoming a Gannett property

In August 2019, New Media Investment Group, the parent entity of GateHouse Media, announced it had agreed to buy Gannett (the longtime parent company of USA Today , the Arizona Republic , the Detroit Free Press , and several other newspapers), [18] [19] and operations would continue under the Gannett rather than GateHouse name, at the Gannett headquarters outside Washington, DC, but under New Media's CEO. The acquisition of Gannett by New Media Investment Group was completed on November 19, 2019, [20] making the combined company the largest newspaper publisher in the United States. Immediately after the merger was finalized, all GateHouse Media URLs began redirecting to Gannett.com. The Statesman website was soon redesigned to match the format of the USA Today website and those of the other Gannett papers.

Community weeklies

The Austin American-Statesman publishes these community weeklies: [21]

Newsroom management and staff

See also

Related Research Articles

Gannett Co., Inc. is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation.

<i>Dayton Daily News</i> Newspaper in Dayton, Ohio

The Dayton Daily News (DDN) is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employees and $21 billion in total revenue. Its major operating subsidiaries are Cox Communications, Cox Automotive, and Ohio Newspapers.

<i>The Register-Guard</i> Newspaper in Eugene, Oregon

The Register-Guard is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the Eugene Daily Guard and the Morning Register. The paper serves the Eugene-Springfield area, as well as the Oregon Coast, Umpqua River valley, and surrounding areas. As of 2019, it had a supposed circulation of 18,886 daily.

<i>Savannah Morning News</i> Daily newspaper published in Savannah, Georgia

The Savannah Morning News is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its metropolitan area, and parts of South Carolina.

The Oklahoman is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media lists it as the 59th largest U.S. newspaper in circulation.

KVUE is a television station in Austin, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Steck Avenue just east of Loop 1 in northwest Austin, and its transmitter is located on the West Austin Antenna Farm northwest of downtown.

<i>The Record</i> (North Jersey) Newspaper in New Jersey

The Record is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey, it has the second-largest circulation of the state's daily newspapers, behind The Star-Ledger.

<i>Telegram & Gazette</i> Newspaper in Worcester, Massachusetts

The Telegram & Gazette is the only daily newspaper of Worcester, Massachusetts. The paper, headquartered at 100 Front Street and known locally as the Telegram or the T & G, offers coverage of all of Worcester County, as well as surrounding areas of the western suburbs of Boston, Western Massachusetts, and several towns in Windham County in northeastern Connecticut.

<i>Journal Star</i> (Peoria) Main newspaper in Peoria, Illinois

The Journal Star is the major daily newspaper for Peoria, Illinois, and surrounding area. First owned locally, then employee-owned, it is currently owned by Gannett.

<i>The Palm Beach Post</i> Daily newspaper in West Palm Beach, Florida

The Palm Beach Post is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast.

<i>The Daily News</i> (Texas) Newspaper in Galveston, Texas

The Daily News, formerly the Galveston County Daily News and Galveston Daily News, is a newspaper published in Galveston, Texas, United States. It was first published April 11, 1842, making it the oldest newspaper in the U.S. state of Texas. The newspaper founded The Dallas Morning News on October 1, 1885, as a sister publication. It currently serves as the newspaper of record for the City of Galveston as well as Galveston County.

<i>The Daily Texan</i> Student-run newspaper in Austin, Texas

The Daily Texan is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spring semesters, and it is among the oldest student newspapers in the South.

The Burlington Free Press is a digital and print community news organization based in Burlington, Vermont, and owned by Gannett. It is one of the official "newspapers of record" for the State of Vermont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GateHouse Media</span> American media company

GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group, acquired Gannett in 2019, with the combined company using the Gannett name and maintaining its headquarters in Virginia.

The Topeka Capital-Journal is a daily newspaper in Topeka, Kansas, owned by Gannett.

The Herald-Mail is a newspaper serving the cities of Hagerstown, Maryland, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and Martinsburg, West Virginia and the surrounding counties.

<i>The Bryan-College Station Eagle</i> Daily newspaper in Bryan, Texas

The Eagle, officially known as The Bryan-College Station Eagle, is a daily newspaper based in Bryan, Texas, United States. Centered in Brazos County, the paper covers an eight-county area around Bryan-College Station that includes Texas A&M University.

<i>The Tuscaloosa News</i> Daily newspaper serving Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US

The Tuscaloosa News is a daily newspaper serving Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and the surrounding area in west central Alabama. It is owned by Gannett.

The Progress-Index is a daily newspaper published in Petersburg, Virginia. Its print edition is published Monday through Sunday morning, and its website is updated regularly throughout the day with breaking news, feature stories, photographs and videos.

<i>Public Opinion</i> (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania) Newspaper

The Public Opinion is a morning newspaper that is published seven days per week. It is located in the Greater Chambersburg area and serves readers in Franklin, Cumberland and Fulton counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

References

  1. Gannett. "Form 10-K". Securities & Exchange Commission. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  2. "Post Beats News". New York Post. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008.
  3. "Consumer Insight Solutions" (PDF). www.scarborough.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2008.
  4. Saba, Jennifer (April 25, 2007). "FAS-FAX Preview: Circ Numbers To Take Another Big Hit". Editor & Publisher. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Weiner, Rachel (October 17, 2008). "Newspapers That Backed Bush Shift To Obama". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  6. Once every three weeks.
  7. 1 2 3 Bishop, Curtis; Schroeter, R. L. "Austin American-Statesman". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  8. "Cox to sell off several newspapers, Valpak operations". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  9. "Cox won't sell Austin American-Statesman newspaper". Reuters. August 6, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  10. "Cox Enterprises Announces New Business Organization: Cox Media Group". Coxenterprises.mediaroom.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  11. "American-Statesman named Texas' top newspaper".
  12. "2014 Texas APME Awards List" . Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  13. "2015 Texas APME Awards List" . Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  14. "2016 Texas APME Awards List" . Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  15. Statesman’s ¡Ahora Sí! publication wins multiple José Marti Awards Archived 25 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  16. "American-Statesman being sold to GateHouse in $47.5M deal".
  17. Shonda Novak; Brian Davis (April 3, 2018). "Statesman's new owner says Austin will be 'a flagship' for media group". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  18. Darcy, Oliver (August 5, 2019). "USA Today owner Gannett merges with GateHouse Media to form massive newspaper company". CNN. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  19. "New Media Investment Group to Acquire Gannett". www.businesswire.com. August 5, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  20. "New Media and Gannett Complete Merger, Creating Leading U.S. Print and Digital News Organization". www.businesswire.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  21. "Austin Community Newspaper: Local Advertising". Statesman Media. Retrieved December 10, 2020.