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 Front page of the June 16, 2015, issue | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Gannett |
| Editor | Leon Tucker |
| Founded | August 22, 1924 |
| Headquarters | Lakeland, Florida |
| Circulation | 16,835 [1] |
| ISSN | 0163-0288 |
| OCLC number | 187953892 |
| Website | theledger |
The Ledger is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area.
The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the Lakeland Evening Ledger. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning Lakeland Star-Telegram. By 1930, it was obvious that Lakeland could not support two papers, so Ledger Publishing Company merged the two papers into a single morning paper, the Lakeland Ledger and Star-Telegram. In 1941, Star-Telegram was dropped from the masthead, and in 1967 the name was shortened to simply The Ledger.
The New York Times Company bought The Ledger in 1970 and owned it until 2012, when it sold its entire regional newspaper group to Halifax Media. [2] In 2015, Halifax was acquired by New Media Investment Group. [3]
Jerome Ferson became publisher of the newspaper on July 30, 2007. Kevin Drake became publisher of the newspaper on January 21, 2014. [4] In October 2016, Drake left The Ledger to return to his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, to work as a group publisher for GateHouse Media. [5]
Brian Burns, former publisher of The Tampa Tribune , joined The Ledger as publisher on January 25, 2017. [6] He departed the newspaper July 25, 2019. [7] No new publisher had been named as of October 2021.[ citation needed ]
Louis M. "Skip" Perez has been The Ledger's longest-serving chief news executive, holding the position of Executive Editor from 1981 to 2011.
Hearst Corporation, its wholly owned subsidiary Hearst Holdings Inc., and HHI's wholly owned subsidiary Hearst Communications Inc. (usually referred to simply as Hearst) constitute an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.
Polk County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as of July 1, 2023. Its county seat is Bartow, and its largest city is Lakeland. Polk County comprises the Lakeland–Winter Haven metropolitan statistical area (MSA). This MSA is the 77th-most populous one and the 89th-most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012. The center of population of Florida is located in Polk County, near the city of Lake Wales. Polk County is home to one public university, one state college, and four private universities.
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along I-4 east of Tampa and west of Orlando, it is the most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lakeland is situated among several lakes including Lake Morton downtown and is sometimes locally referred to by the nickname "Swan City" due to its sizeable population of swans, all of whom are descendants of two mute swans given to Lakeland by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Lakeland is home to several colleges and universities. Lakeland Linder International Airport is in Lakeland as is the corporate headquarters of Publix, a supermarket chain.
The Gainesville Sun is a newspaper published daily in Gainesville, Florida, United States, covering the North-Central portion of the state.
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey.
The Tampa Bay Times, called the St. Petersburg Times until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a nonprofit journalism school directly adjacent to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.
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.
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.
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.
The Portland Press Herald is a daily newspaper based in South Portland, Maine, with a statewide readership. The Press Herald mainly serves southern Maine and is focused on the greater metropolitan area of Portland.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal is a Florida daily newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler Counties.
The Press Democrat, with the largest circulation in California's North Bay, is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California.
The Guardian is a daily newspaper published five days a week in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
The Ocala StarBanner is the daily newspaper in Ocala, Florida, United States, and serves Marion County and the surrounding communities. The Ocala StarBanner has a daily circulation of about 43,000, and is the 19th-largest newspaper in the state of Florida.
The News Chief is a daily paper located in Winter Haven, Florida that serves east Polk County, Florida. It is owned by Gannett and is located at 455 Sixth St. N.W.
StarNews is an American, English language daily newspaper for Wilmington, North Carolina, and its surrounding area. It is North Carolina's oldest newspaper in continuous publication. It was owned by Halifax Media Group until 2015, when Halifax was acquired by New Media Investment Group. New Media merged with Gannett in 2019, and the combined company took the Gannett name.
The Spartanburg Herald-Journal is a daily newspaper, the primary newspaper for Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States.
The Columbus Telegram is a newspaper owned by Lee Enterprises and published in Columbus, in the east-central part of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. It is delivered on Tuesday through Friday afternoon and on Saturday morning.
Halifax Media Group was an American newspaper company owning more than 30 newspapers in five Southeastern U.S. States. It was founded on March 31, 2010, when a group of investors purchased The Daytona Beach News-Journal from the Davidson family, who had owned it for 82 years. On December 27, 2011, The New York Times Company announced it was selling its Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Group. On June 1, 2012, Halifax announced it was acquiring the Florida and North Carolina papers of Freedom Communications. In 2013, Halifax acquired three newspapers from HarborPoint Media: the Daily Commercial of Leesburg, Florida, the South Lake Press in Clermont, Florida and News-Sun of Sebring, Florida. In 2014, Halifax acquired the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Massachusetts. In November 2014, New Media Investment Group announced its acquisition of Halifax. The company was created with the assistance of Stephens Inc.
Fred Rochelle was an African-American teenager from Bartow, Florida, who was lynched and burned to death on May 29, 1901, following the alleged rape and murder of a white woman, Rena Smith Taggart, the previous day. He was said to have been seen near where Taggart's body was found. Newspapers misreported the 16-year-old boy as "35 years of age". A mob of over 100 men as well as bloodhounds from Mulberry and Pebble was assembled to search for him but a local paper mentioned a possible lynching before any evidence was recovered or he was charged.