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American newspaper publisher
Speidel Newspapers, Inc. was an American newspaper publisher with properties in the west and midwestern United States. It announced a merger with
Gannet in 1976 that grew the combined company to 73 newspapers.
[1]
[2]
History
The company was founded as Merritt Speidel and associates by Merritt C. Speidel in 1921 with the help of John Ben Snow.
[3]
The company started with the
Iowa City Press-Citizen .
[4] In 1936, the company bought the Fort Collins Express-Courier which would become the
Fort Collins Coloradoan .
[5] It added the Poughkeepsie Evening Star and Enterprise and the Poughkeepsie Morning Eagle-News (predecessors of the
Poughkeepsie New Yorker ) in 1941.
[6] The
Visalia Times-Delta became the company's 7th newspaper in 1948.
[7]
Speidel retired from his namesake company in 1956.
[8] He died four years later in 1960. At the time, the group included the
Poughkeepsie New Yorker ,
Chillicothe Gazette , the
Evening Gazette and Evening State Journal ,
Fort Collins Coloradoan , the
Sailinas Daily Californian , and the
Visalia Times-Delta .
[4]
Speidel was the target of a potential takeover attempt by
Thomson Newspapers in 1974 which it took steps to block.
[9]
When it merged with Gannett in 1976, 13 newspapers were part of the company.
[10] At the time, the newspapers included the
St. Cloud Times , the
Argus Leader , the
Fort Collins Coloradoan , the
Record , the
Fremont Tribune , and others.
[11]
[12]
When it merged with Gannett, Speidel consisted of the following newspapers:
References
^
"Speidel Newspapers Agrees in Principle to Join With Gannett in a $173 Million Deal" . The New York Times . December 21, 1976.
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved October 26, 2023 .
^
"$173 million merger includes 67 papers" . St. Joseph Gazette . Associated Press. December 21, 1976.
^
"J. B. SNOW, FOUNDER OF SPEIDEL PAPERS" . The New York Times . January 23, 1973.
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved October 26, 2023 .
^
a
b "Merritt C. Speidel Dies at 80; Founded Group of Newspapers". Poughkeepsie Journal . Vol. 175, no. 230. March 21, 1960.
^ Watrous, Ansel (1911).
The History of Larimer County (PDF) . Courier Printing & Publishing Company. pp. 158–160.
^
"Speidel Buying Two Newspapers" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . AP. May 22, 1941. p. 16.
^
"Visalia Newspaper Sold To Speidel Newspaper Chain" . Lodi News-Sentinel . United Press International. May 19, 1948. p. 7.
^
"Head of Speidel Newspapers Over Country Finally Quits" . Prescott Evening Courier . November 26, 1956. p. 7.
^
"Speidel chain tries to block possible Thomson takeover" . The Montreal Gazette . November 12, 1974. p. 34.
^ Clifton, Guy.
"Late USA Today founder had major influence on Reno newspaper history" . Reno Gazette Journal . Retrieved October 27, 2023 .
^
Wishart, David (ed.).
"Argus Leader (Sioux Falls)" . Encyclopedia of the Great Plains .
University of Nebraska–Lincoln .
^
"Our History | St. Cloud Times" . static.sctimes.com . Retrieved October 27, 2023 .