The Telegraph (Macon)

Infobox Newspaper
name = The Telegraph


caption = The 2007-04-03 front page of
"The Telegraph"
type = Daily newspaper
format = Broadsheet
foundation = 1826
ceased publication =
price =
owners = The McClatchy Company
publisher = Pamela J. (P. J.) Browning
editor = Sherrie Marshall
circulation = 67,512 Daily
89,451 Sunday
headquarters = 120 Broadway
Macon, Georgia 31201-3444
USA
ISSN =
website = [http://www.macon.com/ macon.com]

"The Telegraph", frequently referred to as the "Macon Telegraph", is a McClatchy newspaper in Macon, Georgia, United States, and is the primary print news organ in Middle Georgia. It is the third-largest newspaper in the state (after the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" and "Augusta Chronicle"). [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2446 Sverdlik, Alan. "Macon Telegraph"] , from the "New Georgia Encyclopedia"]

History

Beginnings

"The Macon Telegraph" began printing as a weekly newspaper in 1826, three years after the incorporation of the city of Macon. In 1831, it became the city's first daily newspaper. It continued to print during the American Civil War, during which time it was known as the "Daily Macon Telegraph and Confederate". [cite news | first=Jenny | last=Gordon | pages=5A | title=Telegraph timeline | date=2005-03-14 | publisher=The Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)]

Competition

While many other papers were being published in early Macon, at least five were absorbed into "The Telegraph" and most others folded. However, in 1884, a teenaged "Telegraph" employee spent $8 and founded "The Macon Evening News", which would eventually compete with the older, morning paper for readers.

The Anderson Era

In 1914, the Anderson brothers, William T. and Peyton T., purchased the paper. Under their leadership, the paper inaugurated a special page focusing on the black community. They also purchased "The Macon News" and combined some staff positions between the two papers. The "News" continued to publish in the afternoon, while the "Telegraph" remained the morning paper.

In 1946, Peyton T. Anderson's son, Peyton, took over the papers. He became known for giving his editors great freedom to report the facts, as well as being a "pillar of the community". He sold the "Telegraph" and "News" in 1969 to Knight Newspapers, and subsequently invested the proceeds. Much of that money was left in his will to start one of Macon's major charitable foundations. [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2450 New Georgia Encyclopedia: Peyton Anderson] ]

Corporate ownership

The new ownership merged with Ridder Publications in 1974 to create Knight Ridder. At the same time, the Saturday editions of the "Telegraph" and "News" merged.

This foreshadowed a larger merger, as in 1983, the two papers' daily editions merged. The new "Macon Telegraph and News" was published as a morning paper seven days a week. During this era, Randall Savage and Jackie Crosby earned the paper its lone Pulitzer Prize to date in 1985 for an investigation into academic and athletics at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The paper officially changed its name back to "The Macon Telegraph" in 1990, bringing over a century of "The Macon News" to an end. Even so, some local residents continue to refer to the paper by the former, combined name.

In 2005, the name "Macon" was also dropped from the masthead, possibly signaling greater emphasis on the Middle Georgia area as a whole. As a result, the official, correct name of the newspaper is "The Telegraph".

In 2006, Knight Ridder was sold to The McClatchy Company, bringing the "Telegraph" under a new owner once again.

External links

* [http://www.macon.com/ Macon.com: The Telegraph official site]
* [http://www.mcclatchy.com/146/story/358.html The McClatchy Company's subsidiary profile of "The Telegraph"]

References