The Salinas Californian

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The Salinas Californian
Salinas Californian, 1093 S. Main Street, Suite 101, Salinas.jpg
Type Daily newspaper
Owner(s) Gannett
Founder(s)Melville Byerly
EditorSheyanne Romero
FoundedMarch 31, 1871
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters Salinas, California
Circulation 6,000-7,000
Sister newspapers El Sol de Salinas
OCLC number 26092808
Website thecalifornian.com
Logo in 2005 The Salinas Californian (2005-08-30).svg
Logo in 2005

The Salinas Californian, sometimes referred to as The Californian, is a digital and print newspaper published in Salinas, California, covering mainly the Salinas Valley. Founded in 1871 as The Salinas City Index, it went through several name changes and assumed its current name during World War II. [1] The paper is part of the USA Today Network, owned by Gannett, which acquired its parent company Speidel Newspapers Inc., in 1977. [2]

Contents

History

In 1869, J. Selwyn Brittain founded the Salinas Valley Standard, the first paper in Salinas and first in Monterey County outside the city of Monterey. It was quickly sold to prominent druggist E.M. Reading, followed in 1871 by Harry V. Morehouse, who was a teacher in Blanco. Around that time Melville Byerly moved his plant to town and started a successor to the Standard called the Salinas City Weekly Index. [3] [4] He died in 1876, [5] and the paper was then passed on to his brother-in-law, county school superintendent Samuel M. Shearer. [3] [4]

In October 1876, William J. Hill relaunched the paper as the Salinas Daily Index. [6] Hill published it for 33 years. In 1909, a company formed called The Salinas Index Publishing Company, headed by former mayor D.A. Madeira, and acquired the Index from Hill. [7] [8] [3] In 1919, Madeira sold the Index to Fred Weybret. [9] In 1928, Weybret purchased the Salinas Morning Journal from Paul P. Parker and merged it with the Index to form the Salinas Index-Journal. [10]

In 1932, Weybret sold the paper to E.L. Sherman, of Modesto. [11] In 1936, Merritt C. Speidel and Graham M. Dean bought the Salinas Index-Journal from E.L. Sherman and the Salinas Daily Post from Frank Cornell. [12] In 1942, the two papers were merged to form The Salinas Californian due to the economic conditions amid World War II. [13] In 1977, Speidel Newspapers was sold and merged into Gannett. [2]

In 2015, the Californian decreased it's print schedule to three days a week: Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. [14] At that time the paper had a circulation around 7,000. [15]

As of December 2022, the newspaper had no reporters on staff, with all remaining content sourced from other Gannett newspapers, notably the Record Searchlight in Redding, 300 miles north. El Sol de Salinas was also shut down due to a lack of content. [16] One reporter was hired on staff in August 2024. [17]

References

  1. ↑ "Speidel Newspapers Agrees in Principle to Join With Gannett in a $173 Million Deal". The New York Times. December 21, 1976.
  2. 1 2 "Speidel, Gannett Merger OK". The Fresno Bee. Associated Press. May 11, 1977. p. 19.
  3. 1 2 3 "Salinas Journalism". Oakland Tribune. July 19, 1942. p. 17.
  4. 1 2 "Salinas Californian Goes Back 75 Years to Founding Of The Salinas City Index by Melville Byerly in 1871". The Californian. Salinas, California. November 28, 1946. p. 16.
  5. ↑ "Pacific Slope News". The Solano-Napa News Chronicle. Vallejo, California. February 3, 1876. p. 1.
  6. ↑ "Salinas City Daily Index". Merced Sun-Star. October 28, 1876. p. 4.
  7. ↑ "Salinas Index Changes Hands". Gonzales Tribune. June 12, 1909. p. 3.
  8. ↑ "More Newspaper Changes In Salinas". The Pajaronian. Watsonville, California. June 17, 1909. p. 6.
  9. ↑ "Salinas Index Changes Hands". Hollister Advance. August 23, 1919. p. 4.
  10. ↑ "Salinas Journal Changes Hands". Petaluma Daily Morning Courier. United Press. June 30, 1928. p. 4.
  11. ↑ "Salinas Index-Journal sold to E.L. Sherman, Former Publisher of Modesto Paper". Pacific Grove Tribune. July 1, 1932. p. 1.
  12. ↑ "Salinas Papers Are Bought And Consolidated". Porterville Recorder. United Press. March 20, 1936. p. 5.
  13. ↑ "Papers Combine". Santa Maria Times. United Press. June 30, 1942. p. 4.
  14. ↑ Goudreau, Paula (August 26, 2015). "We're a 7-day digital news company that prints 3 days". The Salinas Californian. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  15. ↑ Duan, Mary (September 10, 2015). "The Salinas Californian is slashing its print schedule. What's next?". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  16. ↑ Rainey, James (March 27, 2023). "The California newspaper that has no reporters left". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Roseann Cattani". Salinas Californian. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
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