The Press Democrat

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The Press Democrat
The Press Democrat cover.jpg
The February 28, 2012, front page of
The Press Democrat
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner MediaNews Group
EditorJohn D'Anna, Interim Executive Editor
Founded1897
(as the Sonoma Democrat)
Headquarters416 B Street
Santa Rosa, California 95401
38°26′30″N122°42′54″W / 38.441743°N 122.714944°W / 38.441743; -122.714944
Circulation 20,000 Daily
25,000 Sunday
18,000 Digital Only
(as of 2023) [1]
Sister newspapers Sonoma Index-Tribune , Argus-Courier
ISSN 0747-220X
Website pressdemocrat.com
Free online archives cdnc.ucr.edu (1875-1928)

The Press Democrat is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California.

Contents

History

The front page of The Press Democrat's first issue, published October 9, 1897 The Press Democrat 9 October 1897 Front Page Trim.jpg
The front page of The Press Democrat's first issue, published October 9, 1897

On January 2, 1896, the first edition of TheEvening Press was published in Santa Rosa, California. [2] [3] The newspaper was founded by Ernest L. Finley, Grant Richards, and Charles O. Dunbar, who on October 7, 1897, merged their Evening Press with Thomas Thompson's Sonoma Democrat (originally created as a voice for the Democratic Party). [4] [5] [6] The paper bought the Santa Rosa Republican in 1927. [7]

Finley eventually acquired sole ownership and published the paper until his death in 1942. The paper was then passed on to his widow Ruth Woolsey Finley, daughter Ruth Finley Person and son-in-law Evert B. Person. [8] In 1948, the Republican was consolidated into the Press Democrat. [6]

After Mrs. Finley died in 1985, [9] Evert Person sold the paper to The New York Times Company. The sale included The Healdsburg Tribune. At that time the Press Democrat had a daily circulation of 73,000. [10] In 2001, company bought the Argus-Courier, [11] and in 2012 sold its regional papers to Halifax Media. [12]

Later that year, Sonoma Media, a local investment group formed to buy the Sonoma Index-Tribune , purchased the Argus-Courier and The Press Democrat from Halifax. [13] The ownership group included former congressman Douglas H. Bosco, [14] Jean Schulz, the widow of Peanuts comic strip creator Charles M. Schulz, and Norma Betz Person, widow of The Press Democrat's former publisher Evert Person. [15]

In 2019, Sonoma Media Investments acquired the Sonoma County Gazette of Forestville, a monthly newspaper. [16] In 2025, the business sold its papers to MediaNews Group. [17]

Gaye LeBaron

The most popular feature in The Press Democrat for many years was Gaye LeBaron's community column, according to a readership survey. LeBaron produced more than 8,000 columns between 1961 and her semi-retirement in 2001, writing on human interest, cultural events, ethnic history and local politics. [18] [19]

Awards and honors

The Press Democrat headquarters in Santa Rosa in 2016 427MendocinoAve-SantaRosa-ThePressDemocrat-NEcorner.JPG
The Press Democrat headquarters in Santa Rosa in 2016

The Press Democrat's staff was the winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for "[f]or lucid and tenacious coverage of historic wildfires that ravaged the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County." [20] Former staff photographer Annie Wells also won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography "for her dramatic photograph of a local firefighter rescuing a teenager from raging floodwaters." [21]

The newspaper was also the 2004 recipient of the George Polk Award for Regional Reporting, [22] given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.

References

  1. ↑ "Audit Bureau of Circulation". Audit Bureau of Circulation's eCirc numbers for figures reported 3/31/2007. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Santa Rosa "Evening Press."". The Weekly San Diegan-Sun. San Diego, California. January 9, 1896. p. 7.
  3. ↑ "Notice". The St. Helena Star. January 17, 1896. p. 2.
  4. ↑ "Newspaper Change". Petaluma Daily Morning Courier. September 27, 1897. p. 1.
  5. ↑ "Notice". The Sacramento Union. October 9, 1897. p. 2.
  6. 1 2 LeBaron, Gaye (October 22, 2021). "Sonoma County marks 165 years of local newspapers". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Santa Rosa Republican Sold to Morning Paper". Riverside Daily Press. September 14, 1927. p. 2.
  8. ↑ Slater, Herbert W. (October 25, 1942). "Ernest L. Finley Claimed By Death". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, California. p. 1.
  9. ↑ "Ruth Person, pianist, newspaper officer, dies". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, California. May 17, 1985. p. 1.
  10. ↑ "Press Democrat sold to New York Times". Petaluma Argus-Courier. February 28, 1985. p. 2.
  11. ↑ "New York Times Co. buys Petaluma Argus-Courier". Petaluma Argus-Courier. September 5, 2001. p. 4.
  12. ↑ "NY Times plans for sale of Argus". Petaluma Argus-Courier. December 22, 2011. p. 1.
  13. ↑ Hansen, Jamie (November 15, 2012). "Argus sold to local group". Petaluma Argus-Courier. p. 1.
  14. ↑ "Local group to buy The Press Democrat, affiliated publications". November 1, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  15. ↑ "It's official: Press Democrat sold to local group". November 8, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  16. ↑ Swindell, Bill (December 30, 2019). "Press Democrat owner adds to media holdings, acquiring monthly hyperlocal publication". The North Bay Business Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  17. ↑ Bandlamudi, Adhiti (May 2, 2025). "Santa Rosa's Press Democrat Was Just Sold. Locals Are Concerned For the Paper's Future". KQED. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  18. ↑ Tesconi, Tim (March 18, 2001). "Voice of the Community". The Press Democrat. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  19. ↑ Silverstein, Louis (1990). Newspaper Design for The Times. Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 260. ISBN   0442283210.
  20. ↑ "The 2018 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Breaking News Reporting | Staff of The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif". The Pulitzer Prizes. 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  21. ↑ "1997 Pulitzer Prizes". The Pulitzer Prizes. 1997. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Long Island University Announces Winners of 2005 George Polk Awards". Long Island University. Long Island University. April 19, 2006. Archived from the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
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