The Press Democrat

Last updated
The Press Democrat
The Press Democrat cover.jpg
The February 28, 2012, front page of
The Press Democrat
TypeDaily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s)Sonoma Media Investments LLC
EditorJohn D'Anna, Interim Executive Editor
Founded1897
(as the Sonoma Democrat)
Headquarters416 B Street
Santa Rosa, California 95401
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 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, with the largest circulation in California's North Bay, is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California.

Contents

History

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

The newspaper was founded in 1897 by Ernest L. Finley, who merged his Evening Press and Thomas Thompson's Sonoma Democrat (originally created as a voice for the Democratic Party). Finley bought the Santa Rosa Republican in 1927 and merged it with The Press Democrat in 1948.

Finley, his wife Ruth Woolsey Finley, daughter Ruth Finley Person, and son-in-law Evert B. Person owned and published the "PD" between 1897 and 1985. After the death of his wife in 1985, Evert Person sold the paper to The New York Times Company.

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. [2] [3]

Along with The Press Democrat, The New York Times Company bought the North Bay Business Journal and the Petaluma Argus-Courier; all were acquired by Halifax Media Group in January 2012. Less than a year later, in November 2012, Halifax resold its California papers to a local ownership group, Sonoma Media Investments, LLC, which included former congressman Douglas H. Bosco, [4] 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. [5]

In 2019, Sonoma Media Investments acquired the Sonoma County Gazette of Forestville, a monthly newspaper. [6]

Awards and honors

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." [7] 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." [8]

The newspaper was also the 2004 recipient of the George Polk Award for Regional Reporting, [9] given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting</span> American journalism award

The Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting is a Pulitzer Prize awarded for a distinguished example of breaking news, local reporting on news of the moment. It has been awarded since 1953 under several names:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoma County, California</span> County in California, United States

Sonoma County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloverdale, California</span> City in California, United States

Cloverdale is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States; it is both the westernmost and the northernmost city in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached the area in 1872. The Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is headquartered there. The population was 8,996 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Rosa, California</span> City in California, United States

Santa Rosa is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and Redwood Coast. It is the fifth most populous city in the Bay Area after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont; and the 25th-most populous city in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor, California</span> City in California, United States

Windsor is an incorporated town in Sonoma County, California, United States. The town is 9 miles north of Santa Rosa and 63 miles north of San Francisco. The population was 26,344 as of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoma State University</span> Public university in Rohnert Park, California, US

Sonoma State University is a public university in Sonoma County, California. It is part of the California State University system. Sonoma State offers 92 bachelor's degree programs, 19 master's degree programs, and 11 teaching credentials. The university is a Hispanic-serving institution.

<i>Tampa Bay Times</i> American daily newspaper

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit</span> Rail service in Sonoma and Marin County, California

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a rail line and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a 70-mile (110 km) corridor between Cloverdale in northern Sonoma County and Larkspur Landing in Marin County. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 749,700, or about 3,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

The Daily Breeze is a 57,000-circulation daily newspaper published in Hermosa Beach, California, United States. It serves the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRCB (TV)</span> PBS member station in Cotati, California

KRCB is a PBS member television station licensed to Cotati, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Owned by Northern California Public Media, it is a sister station to NPR members KRCG-FM (91.1) and KRCB-FM (104.9) and independent noncommercial station KPJK. The stations share studios on Labath Avenue in Rohnert Park; the TV station's transmitter is located at Sutro Tower in San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport</span> Municipal airport in Sonoma County, California, United States

Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport is a domestic airport located 7 miles (11 km) northwest of downtown Santa Rosa, California, in Sonoma County, California, United States.

KSRO is a commercial radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. KSRO is licensed to Santa Rosa, California, and serves the Sonoma County area. The station is owned by Lawrence Amaturo, through licensee Amaturo Sonoma Media Group, LLC.

<i>Running Fence</i> 1976 art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Running Fence was an installation art piece by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which was completed on September 10, 1976. The art installation was first conceived in 1972, but the actual project took more than four years to plan and build. After it was installed, the builders removed it 14 days later, leaving no visible trace behind.

<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.

Museum of Sonoma County United States historic place

The Museum of Sonoma County, commonly known as the Sonoma County Museum, is a non-profit organization located in downtown Santa Rosa, California. Its 7th St. campus comprises the historic 1910 Santa Rosa Post Office, a contemporary art gallery, and a sculpture garden. Between the two buildings, the Museum presents 10-12 rotating exhibitions per year and maintains a permanent collection of over 18,000 objects that document the region's rich history and celebrate local artists. The historic post office is on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor station (California)</span>

Windsor station is a bus station and future Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train station in Windsor, California. The station serves Sonoma County Transit and Mendocino Transit Authority, with service to Sonoma County Airport station provided by Sonoma County Transit under contract by SMART.

Gaye Theresa LeBaron is an American newspaper columnist, author, teacher, and local historian of Sonoma County, California. She wrote more than 8,000 columns for The Press Democrat from 1961 until her semi-retirement in 2001. She also co-authored two books on the history of Santa Rosa, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tubbs Fire</span> 2017 wildfire in Northern California

The Tubbs Fire was a wildfire in Northern California during October 2017. At the time, the Tubbs Fire was the most destructive wildfire in California history, burning parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties, inflicting its greatest losses in the city of Santa Rosa. Its destructiveness was surpassed only a year later by the Camp Fire of 2018. The Tubbs Fire was one of more than a dozen large fires that broke out in early October 2017, which were simultaneously burning in eight Northern California counties, in what was called the "Northern California firestorm". By the time of its containment on October 31, the fire was estimated to have burned 36,810 acres (149 km2); at least 22 people were believed to have been killed in Sonoma County by the fire.

The 1991 Sonoma State Cossacks football team represented Sonoma State University as a member of the Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) during the 1991 NCAA Division II football season. Led by third-year head coach Tim Walsh, Sonoma State compiled an overall record of 9–2 with a mark of 5–0 in conference play, winning the NCAC title. The team outscored its opponents 265 to 175 for the season. The Cossacks played home games at Cossacks Stadium in Rohnert Park, California.

The Argus-Courier is an American weekly paid newspaper which serves the city of Petaluma and surrounding Sonoma County, California. It is published weekly on Friday, with an estimated circulation of 7,400.

References

  1. ↑ "Audit Bureau of Circulation". Audit Bureau of Circulation's eCirc numbers for figures reported 3/31/2007. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  2. ↑ Tesconi, Tim (18 March 2001). "Voice of the Community". The Press Democrat. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Silverstein, Louis (1990). Newspaper Design for The Times. Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 260. ISBN   0442283210.
  4. ↑ "Local group to buy The Press Democrat, affiliated publications". 1 November 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "It's official: Press Democrat sold to local group". 8 November 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Press Democrat owner adds to media holdings, acquiring monthly hyperlocal publication". The North Bay Business Journal. 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  7. ↑ Pulitzer Prizes. "Pulitzer Prize". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  8. ↑ Pulitzer Prizes. "Pulitzer Prize". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "George Polk Awards for Journalism press release". Long Island University. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.