The Hoover Gazette

Last updated
The Hoover Gazette
Type Weekly newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s)Eagle Publishing Company, LLC
PublisherRobert Martin
EditorDon Millazo
Founded2006
Headquarters3033 Lorna Road
Hoover, Alabama 35216
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States

The Hoover Gazette was a weekly newspaper that served the city of Hoover, Alabama. It was owned by Eagle Publishing Company LLC, published its first edition on June 5, 2006, and its last edition on August 15, 2007. The newspaper was published each Wednesday.

Contents

The Gazette initially started with experienced reporters, such John Cargile, former sports reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald, and sports editor of the Alabama Journal, and Robert Carter, who was the original managing editor of the neophyte newspaper. Cargile and Carter both left the newspaper because of major philosophical differences between editorial and the owners of the newspaper.

In January 2007, Robert Martin, publisher and owner of the Montgomery Independent, became the publisher of The Hoover Gazette, replacing Barbara and Peyton Bobo, who also publish The West Alabama Gazette and The Northport Gazette. John Junkin (son of owner Clatus Junkin) was the general manager. Featured columnists included Paul Finebaum, Rheta Grimsley Johnson and Tom York. Barbara Bobo, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Congress, is the former five-term mayor of Millport, Alabama.

Hoover High School athletics investigation

The Gazette became a peripheral part of an investigation of alleged improper activities in the athletic department of Hoover High School. Hunter Ford, a reporter and columnist for the Gazette since its first edition, appeared on the Paul Finebaum syndicated sports talk radio program on June 19, 2007. During Ford's interview with Finebaum, Ford mentioned that rumors about Hoover High football coach Rush Propst and alleged extramarital affairs have circulated throughout Hoover and surrounding areas for some time.

After Hoover School Superintendent Andy Craig announced an investigation of the charges of misconduct within the athletic department, Ford appeared again on Finebaum's show on June 22 to address his comments from the previous show, apparently against the wishes of Gazette publisher John Junkin. Shortly after Ford's interview, Junkin called Finebaum's show and, live and on the air, said that he wanted to "talk with my writer to address his future employment." Junkin fired Ford immediately afterward.

Ford's firing provoked a firestorm on local talk radio shows, including Finebaum's show, as well as local and statewide Internet forums and blogs. On June 25, Ford appeared on Finebaum's show for the third time, the first since his firing, to address the issue further.

Ford continued to work at The Western Star, a weekly newspaper in adjoining Bessemer, then left the news business entirely the following year.

The investigation resulted in findings that largely proved Ford correct, and eventually resulted in Propst's resignation during the football season.

Demise

After the Finebaum/Ford incident, The Gazette staff slowly dwindled to a single writer. By August, with only one writer on board and the Hoover High/Propst investigation coming to a head, the Junkins published their last edition on August 15, 2007. [1]

Carter later became a sports correspondent for The Birmingham News, then sports editor and later associate editor for The North Jefferson News in nearby Gardendale. Cargile returned to working for the Bobos at their two papers in west Alabama.

Related Research Articles

<i>Chicago Sun-Times</i> Daily newspaper in Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Sun-Times is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the Chicago Tribune.

<i>Los Angeles Times</i> American daily newspaper covering the Greater Los Angeles area

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles area city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the nation and the largest in the Western United States with a print circulation of 118,760. It has 500,000 online subscribers, the fifth-largest among U.S. newspapers. Owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by California Times, the paper has won over 40 Pulitzer Prizes since its founding.

Howell Hiram Raines is an American journalist, editor, and writer. He was executive editor of The New York Times from 2001 until he left in 2003 in the wake of the scandal related to reporting by Jayson Blair. In 2008, Raines became a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio, writing the magazine's media column. After beginning his journalism career working for Southern newspapers, he joined The Times in 1978, as a national correspondent based in Atlanta. His positions included political correspondent and bureau chief in Atlanta and Washington, DC, before joining the New York City staff in 1993.

<i>The Daily Pennsylvanian</i> Student newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. is the independent student media organization of the University of Pennsylvania. The DP, Inc. publishes The Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper, 34th Street magazine, and Under the Button satirical publication, as well as four newsletters: Daybreak, The Toast, Quaker Nation, and Penn, Unbuttoned.

<i>Press-Register</i> Newspaper in Mobile, Alabama

The Press-Register was a newspaper serving the southwest Alabama counties of Mobile and Baldwin. The newspaper is a descendant of one founded in 1813, making the Press-Register Alabama's oldest newspaper. It is owned by Advance Publications, which also owns the primary newspapers in Birmingham, Alabama and Huntsville, Alabama. The Press-Register had a daily publication schedule since the inception of its predecessors in the early 1800s until September 30, 2012, when it and its sister papers reduced printing editions to only Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays.

The Birmingham Post-Herald was a daily newspaper in Birmingham, Alabama, with roots dating back to 1850, before the founding of Birmingham. The final edition was published on September 23, 2005. In its last full year, its average daily circulation was 7,544, down from 8,948 the previous year.

<i>The Birmingham News</i> Newspaper published in Birmingham, Alabama

The Birmingham News was the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States in the latter half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st. The paper was owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the News and its two sister Alabama newspapers, the Press-Register in Mobile and The Huntsville Times, moved to a thrice-weekly print-edition publication schedule.

<i>Hammonton Gazette</i> Newspaper in Hammonton, New Jersey

The Hammonton Gazette is a weekly local newspaper located in Hammonton, New Jersey. It was founded in 1997 by the then-23-year-old Gabriel J. Donio. The first print edition was published on July 2, 1997. Gabriel J. Donio is the publisher of The Gazette. Gina L. Rullo is the editor-in-chief. The Gazette staff consists of approximately 30 people. Each Wednesday, the newspaper is distributed throughout Hammonton and the surrounding area. The newspaper primarily covers the town of Hammonton, focusing on local politics, businesses and residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Finebaum</span> American sports journalist

Paul Finebaum is an American sports author, former columnist, and television-radio personality. His primary focus is sports, particularly those in the Southeast. After many years as a reporter, columnist, and sports talk radio host in the Birmingham area, Finebaum was hired by ESPN in 2013 for its new SEC Network. He produces a radio show out of the network's regional base in Charlotte, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoover High School (Alabama)</span> American public high school

Hoover High School is a four-year public high school in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Hoover. It is one of two high schools in the Hoover City School System and one of three International Baccalaureate schools in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area. The school colors are orange, black, and white, and the athletic teams are called the Buccaneers. Hoover competes in AHSAA Class 7A athletics.

CTNow is a free weekly newspaper in central and southwestern Connecticut, United States, published by the Hartford Courant.

The York Daily Record is a newspaper and news publisher serving York, Pennsylvania, United States, and the surrounding region. Its news publications are the York Daily Record and York Sunday News. At the end of 2014, the newspaper's circulation was 37,323 daily and 61,665 on Sundays.

The Bay Area Reporter is a free weekly LGBT newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published newspaper of its kind.

Two-A-Days is an MTV reality show that chronicled the lives of teens at Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama, a suburb of nearby Birmingham. It focused on the members of the school's highly rated Hoover Buccaneers football team during the season, while they balanced athletics with school and relationships.

<i>Bristol Herald Courier</i> Newspaper published in Bristol, Virginia, United States

The Bristol Herald Courier is a daily newspaper owned by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper is located in Bristol, Virginia, a small city located in Southwest Virginia on the Tennessee border.

<i>Daily Press</i> (Virginia) Newspaper in Newport News, Virginia

The Daily Press Inc. is a daily morning newspaper published in Newport News, Virginia, which covers the lower and middle Peninsula of Tidewater Virginia. It was established in 1896 and bought by Tribune Company in 1986. Current owner Tribune Publishing spun off from the company in 2014. In 2016, The Daily Press has a daily average readership of approximately 101,100. It had a Sunday average readership of approximately 169,200. Using a frequently used industry-standard readership of 2.2 readers per copy, the October 2022 readership is estimated to be 38,000. It is the sister newspaper to Norfolk's The Virginian-Pilot, which was its southern market rival until Tribune's purchase of that paper in 2018; the papers have both been based out of the Daily Press building since May 2020.

The Huntsville Times was a thrice-weekly newspaper published in Huntsville, Alabama. It also served the surrounding areas of north Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The Times formerly operated as an afternoon paper, but moved to mornings years after The Huntsville News ceased publication. It was published by The Huntsville Times Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Advance Publications, Inc. The paper was first acquired by Advance's founder, Samuel Newhouse Sr., in 1955. The Times is a sister paper to two other Advance-owned publications within Alabama, The Birmingham News and the (Mobile) Press-Register.

Thomas Rush Propst is the former head football coach at Pell City High School in Pell City, Alabama. He formerly served as athletic director and associate football coach at Coosa Christian School in Gadsden, Alabama. He is also the former head coach at Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Georgia, Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Georgia, and Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama. Propst gained national notoriety through the MTV series Two-A-Days, which chronicled the 2005 and 2006 seasons of his Hoover teams.

The Democrat-Reporter is a local weekly newspaper in Linden, Alabama, United States. It was established in 1911 from the merger of the Linden Reporter and the Marengo Democrat. The newspaper was published by the Sutton family for over a century, with Goodloe Sutton running it from 1985 to 2019. The newspaper won national acclaim in the 1990s for its investigation of a corrupt county sheriff, but was met with criticism in early 2019 over an editorial from Sutton calling for the return of the Ku Klux Klan.

References

  1. Cason, Mike (2007-08-16). "The Hoover Gazette puts out last issue today". AL.com/The Birmingham News.