The Morning Sun
(Pittsburg, Kansas)
TypeDaily newspaper
Owner(s)Pittsburg Publishing LLC (2021-)
PublisherJeffrey M. Peyton (2022- ) Larry Hiatt (2021-2022) James Honeycutt (2016–2021)[1]
Steve Boggs (2012)
Steve Wade (2002–2012)[2]
Founded1885
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters701 North Locust Street, Pittsburg, Kansas 66762, United States
Circulation2,408[3]
Websitemorningsun.net

The Morning Sun is a newspaper published in Pittsburg, Kansas, United States. Though its history dates to the 1880s, it has been known as the Morning Sun since 1973. It was a seven-day daily paper, but decreased to five print editions a week (Tuesday to Friday, and Sunday) as of April 2017.[4] The paper was purchased by Pittsburg Publishing LLC in September 2021, and is currently published five days a week (Tue-Sat).

History

Early history (1880s to 1966)

The Morning Sun traces its origin to the Pittsburg Headlight, a weekly which began publication in 1885, under the ownership of brothers Millard Fillmore (M.F.) Sears and W.F. Sears and cousin Harry Sears. M.F. Sears soon became the sole owner and took on Clarence W. (C.W.) Moore as his partner. In 1886, the Headlight bought out the Pittsburg Democrat, which had been published by Thomas P. Montfort. (Montfort had acquired that publication around 1881, when it was called The People's Exponent (founded 1880), and had renamed it.) By 1887, Sears and Moore were publishing the Pittsburg Daily Headlight as a daily paper.[5][6][7] After C.W. Moore bought out M.F. Sears' interest, he began publishing with his father, William Moore (d. 1897) as "William Moore and Son" by 1888.[8] Two other sons of William Moore, J.T. and George A., joined by 1896, and eventually succeeded to ownership of the paper.[6][9]

In 1915, Paul Jones founded the Pittsburg Sun, which was a morning paper. The Moore brothers purchased that paper in 1927,[6] and both the Headlight and Sun were purchased that year by Oscar Stauffer. Stauffer's media holdings developed into Stauffer Communications.[6]

Perhaps the most notable editor of the papers was Frederick W. (F.W.) Brinkeroff (b. Feb. 13, 1885, d. Aug. 13, 1966), who became editor of the Headlight in 1911, and also editor of the Sun in 1927. He served as editor of both papers until his death in August 1966, and was soon after inducted into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame.[10][11][12][13][14]

1966 Headlight and Sun merger to present

In 1966, the afternoon Headlight and morning Sun were merged into the Headlight-Sun.[6] The Morning Sun name was adopted in 1973.[6]

In 1994, Morris Communications announced plans to acquire Stauffer Communications, which by that time was operating 20 daily newspapers (including the Morning Sun) and eight weeklies, in addition to a number of television and radio stations.[15] At the time the circulation was 10,312.[16] In 2007, GateHouse Media acquired the paper from Morris Publishing Group as part of a larger sale of papers.[17][18]

As of 2009, the reported circulation of the paper was 9,850.[19] Circulation had declined to just over 4,000 by 2017.[20] In March 2017, the paper announced it was moving from publishing 6-days a week (all days except Monday) to 5-days a week (dropping the Saturday edition).[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ (25 November 2016). New publisher takes reins at Morning Sun, Morning Sun
  2. ↑ , January 7, 2012 ("Steve Boggs will take over as publisher of the Morning Sun effective immediately after it was announced that Steve Wade would be leaving for another position within GateHouse Media.")
  3. ↑ "Browse Full Member Database | Kansas Press Association". kspress.com. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  4. 1 2 (24 March 2017). Morning Sun to move to five day schedule, Morning Sun
  5. ↑ Connelley, William E. History of Kansas Newspapers - 1854-1916, p. 171 (1916)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sun celebrates 115th anniversary, The Morning Sun, April 16, 2002
  7. ↑ Campbell, Harold. Early residents could choose from an array of newspapers, The Morning Sun, May 31, 2001
  8. ↑ Roberts, Randy and Mauk, Janette, Pittsburg, p.36 (Arcadia Publishing 2009) (ISBN 978-0-7385-6116-5)
  9. ↑ Connelley, William E. A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans (1918)
  10. ↑ Campbell, Harold. In southeast Kansas, the name Brinkerhoff meant journalism, The Morning Sun, May 31, 2001
  11. ↑ Brinkerhoff, Fred - Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame, Kansas Press Association, posted July 9, 2008, Retrieved September 27, 2010
  12. ↑ Town in Kansas to Honor Editor, The New York Times, September 17, 1961
  13. ↑ Special 'Brinkerhoff Day' Will Honor Pittsburg Editor, Fort Scott Tribune, September 12, 1961
  14. ↑ Frederick W. Brinkerhoff Papers, Kansas State Historical Society, Retrieved September 27, 2010
  15. ↑ Morris buys Stauffer, Fort Scott Tribune, July 27, 1994
  16. ↑ Roberts, Gene, ed. Leaving Readers Behind: The Age of Corporate Newspapering, p.59 (2001)
  17. ↑ GateHouse Media completes acquisition of Morris Publications, Wichita Business Journal, December 4, 2007
  18. ↑ Morris Selling Several Kansas Newspapers, WIBW-TV (Associated Press), October 24, 2007
  19. ↑ Pittsburg Morning Sun, Mondotimes, Retrieved September 27, 2010
  20. ↑ Pittsburg Morning Sun - Record Details, Kansas Press Association, Retrieved 24 April 2017
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.