The Athens Banner-Herald is a daily newspaper in Athens, Georgia , USA, and owned by Gannett . The paper has a Sunday special and publishes online under the name Online Athens . It has been through a series of restructurings and mergers since 2000, culminating in its sale, along with several other papers, by Morris Communications to Gatehouse Media in August 2017. Since the merger of GateHouse Media and Gannett in November 2019, The Athens Banner-Herald is now owned by Gannett.
22-548: The newspaper traces its history to the Southern Banner newspaper which began publishing on March 20, 1832. The paper's masthead and owners were unchanged until 1872, when it was sold and the masthead changed to North-East Georgian and to Athens Weekly Georgian after sale, before returning to its original masthead in 1879. The title changed again with its merger with its rival the Southern Watchman to form
44-470: A company-wide email to maintain specific editorial positions to make a political point. This has put the organization into question relating to its ethics. Further issues arose with Morris Communications' failure to respond for comment. In 2004, Morris unsuccessfully brought suit against PGA Tour , alleging that PGA Tour violated section 2 of the Sherman Act , codified at 15 U.S.C. ยงโ2, by monopolizing
66-679: Is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida , United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the Florida Union in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when the Florida Union merged with another Jacksonville paper, the Florida Daily Times . In 1983, Morris Communications of Augusta, Georgia , purchased Florida Publishing Company. The Times-Union became
88-685: Is where Lewis Grizzard began his career as a sports writer. On December 24, 1967, the Morris family, which owned the Athens Banner-Herald , bought the Athens Daily News and continued publishing both papers, though eventually both editorial staffs were merged. In 1991, the News and Banner-Herald moved into a new office at the corner of Thomas and Broad Streets. The building came to be known as The News Building. During this time,
110-680: The Athens Banner-Herald established a web presence. In 1996, the newspapers started a web page, Athenaeum . The following year, the newspaper started OnlineAthens.com , its current web page. In 2001, the News and Banner-Herald merged into a single morning paper with the Banner-Herald name. In December 2011, Morris Communications reached an agreement to sell The News Building to Lulscal, LLC. The newspaper routinely wins awards in Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press competitions, including Story of
132-714: The Athens Banner-Watchman in 1882. It was owned and operated by T.L. Gantt. In 1889, the masthead became the Athens Weekly Banner for the weekly edition. This later became The Weekly Banner until the cessation of weekly editions in 1921. In 1902, the daily newspaper, then called the Athens Daily Banner , became the Athens Banner under the ownership of H.J. Rowe. It continued under this title until 1923 when it merged with
154-488: The Athens Daily Herald to become the Banner-Herald . This became the Athens Banner-Herald in 1933. Earl Braswell was the newspaper's publisher, a position he held until 1965. In 1965, Billy and Charles Morris of Morris Communications purchased the newspaper. On June 17 that year, the weekly Athens Advertiser changed its name to the Athens Daily News and became a seven-day morning paper to compete with
176-692: The Daily Times to form The Florida Times-Union , whose first edition was published on February 4, 1883. The paper was partisan and worked to promote railroad interests. The Daily Times was reporting on election related violence in 1882. On February 11, 2018, The Florida Times-Union printed its last papers in Jacksonville after 154 years. The Florida Times-Union newspapers are now printed at The Gainesville Sun and The Daytona Beach News-Journal , which are both owned by Gatehouse Media . On April 1, 2019, The Florida Times-Union moved to
198-476: The Florida Union to Edward M. Cheney, of Boston . Cheney tried to make the paper into a daily publication but lacked the needed money. The Union was sold to Walton, Fowle & Co. in 1873. Stockholder C. F. Mawbey assumed control and turned the Union into a daily publication. Cheney returned to the Union as an editor. In 1876, the Union was in decline and abandoned daily publication. Financially doomed, it
220-488: The Where series for travelers. Morris Communications is separate from Morris Multimedia , which was founded by Charles H. Morris, a member of the same family that founded Morris Communications. William S. Morris Jr. began working in the media industry in 1929 when he got a job as a bookkeeper at The Augusta Chronicle . He and his wife bought stock in the paper in 1945 and founded Southeastern Newspapers, Inc. They bought
242-427: The decline of the newspaper industry , Morris Communications cut employee wages in 2009 to prevent further layoffs. In 2010, Morris Publishing Group filed a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization with $ 415 million in debt. On May 18, 2015, Morris announced that it had sold its 36 radio stations to Alpha Media . On October 14, 2015, it was revealed that Morris Communications Company VP of audience sent
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#1732801680598264-609: The Seaboard merged in 1967 and were predecessors of CSX Transportation ; the Florida East Coast has maintained its corporate identity into the 21st century. Both railroads have their headquarters in Jacksonville, the railroad hub of the state. In 1983 Morris Communications of Augusta, Georgia , acquired the Florida Publishing Company for $ 200 million. In October 2017 Gatehouse Media acquired
286-785: The Wells Fargo building at 1 Independent Drive, Suite 200 in downtown Jacksonville. For most of the 20th century, The Florida Times-Union was owned by the Florida Publishing Company, which was in turn jointly owned by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad , the Florida East Coast Railway , and the Seaboard Air Line Railway , the three main railroads serving Jacksonville, having been acquired in equal shares by them or their corporate predecessors about 1896. The Coast Line and
308-721: The Year honors in 2002, 2004 and 2006. Morris Communications Morris Communications , headquartered in Augusta, Georgia , is a privately held media company with diversified holdings that include magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications, and online services. Morris Communications is the parent company to Morris Media Network . Morris Media Network consists of city magazines and special interest magazines including travel. Morris brands include Alaska Magazine , American Angler , Skirt! , The Milepost , Western Horseman , and
330-407: The afternoon Athens Banner-Herald . On June 17, 1965, the weekly Athens Advertiser changed its name to the Athens Daily News and became a seven-day morning paper, competing with the afternoon Athens Banner-Herald . Glenn Vaughn wrote in its first editorial page, "Our goal is to produce a daily newspaper that will be equal to this magnificent community." The Athens Daily News was independent, and
352-526: The be IN series from the publishers NBC in London. They then expanded with the takeover of Where in 2004. Another subsidiary, Morris Publications Ltd. UK, was created in 1998, when Cadogan Guides of London was purchased. They acquired London This Week , renaming it the London Planner . Morris Publishing Group (MPG) was formed in 2001 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Morris Communications to handle
374-545: The largest newspaper of this chain, which owns a number of newspapers around the country. The paper is now owned by Gannett . Its editor is Paul Runnestrand. In 1864, during the American Civil War , J. K. Stickney and W. C. Morrill published the first edition of the Florida Union . It was a Northern and Republican paper, at the time when Jacksonville was occupied by the Union Army . By 1867, Stickney sold
396-601: The markets for (1) the publication of compiled real-time golf scores on the Internet, and (2) the sale, or syndication of those scores. In addition, Morris alleged that PGA Tour further violated section 2 of the Sherman Act by refusing to deal with Morris. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of PGA Tour because it found, inter alia , that PGA Tour had a valid business justification for its actions. The Florida Times-Union The Florida Times-Union
418-702: The newspaper side of the corporation. MPG published twelve daily newspapers , eleven non-daily papers, and numerous free community newspapers in the US. In 2017, the MPG division and its portfolio of newspapers was sold to GateHouse Media for $ 120M. Included in the sale were Augusta Chronicle , Savannah Morning News , Athens Banner-Herald , Florida Times-Union , St. Augustine Record , Lubbock Avalanche-Journal , Amarillo Globe-News , Topeka Capital-Journal , Log Cabin Democrat , Juneau Empire , and Peninsula Clarion . With
440-458: The purchase of Naegele Outdoor Advertising, which they renamed Fairway Outdoor Advertising in 1991 after selling various units to other companies. In 1995, they expanded into Kansas by acquiring Stauffer Communications , which had a portfolio of newspapers and TV and radio stations. They added travel guides starting with the acquisition of Best Read Guide Franchise Corp in 1997, and added Guest Informant in 2001. They acquired The London Guide and
462-906: The remaining shares of the Chronicle in 1955 and expanded with the purchase of the Augusta Herald . Their son William S. "Billy" Morris III joined the company in 1956. Additional newspapers in Georgia were added in the coming years. Billy was appointed President of the company in 1966, and the name was changed to Morris Communications Corp. in 1970. The company continued to expand, adding interests radio and television as well as newspapers in Alaska, Florida, and Texas. The company purchased Florida Publishing Co., owners of The Florida Times-Union and The St. Augustine Record , on January 1, 1983. The company expanded into outdoor advertising in 1985 with
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#1732801680598484-503: Was sold to H. B. McCallum, who then returned it to daily publication and converted it from an afternoon to a morning paper. Charles H. Jones wanted to buy the Union but was refused by McCallum. Annoyed, Jones started a rival paper, the Florida Daily Times , in November 1881. By 1883, the Daily Times was dominating the Union . McCallum became ill and finally decided to sell the paper to the Daily Times . The Union then combined with
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