Daily Press (Virginia)

For other uses, see Daily Press (disambiguation).

Daily Press

Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet, online
Owner	Tribune Company
Publisher	Digby Solomon
Editor	Marisa Porto
Founded	1896
Headquarters	7505 Warwick Blvd. Newport News, Virginia 23607  United States
ISSN	None
Official website	dailypress.com

The Daily Press is a morning newspaper located in Newport News, Virginia, that covers the Hampton Roads metro area of Virginia. It was established in 1896 and has been owned by the Tribune Company since July 1986. The Daily Press has a daily circulation of approximately 83,000 and a Sunday circulation of about 108,000.

The print edition of the newspaper focuses primarily on the cities and counties on and around the Virginia Peninsula: Newport News, Hampton, Williamsburg, James City County, York County, Isle of Wight County, Gloucester County, Smithfield and Poquoson. Through its Web site at dailypress.com, the paper also publishes some news, sports and features from across the water in South Hampton Roads, which includes Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Portsmouth, though this area is covered fully by the other of the metro area's newspapers: The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk.

While the main office is located in Newport News, the paper also has bureaus in Williamsburg, Gloucester and Isle of Wight County.

The Daily Press published its first edition on January 4, 1896, less than two weeks before the General Assembly declared Newport News a city. Charles E. Thacker owned and edited the paper from a small printing shop in the basement of the First National Bank, promising in his four-page first edition to “espouse the right and oppose the wrong wherever found.”

In 1910, Thacker sold the business to bankers Henry and George Schmelz, who formed Daily Press Inc. Three years later, they bought The Times-Herald, giving them control of both the morning and afternoon newspapers in the area. The Times-Herald published its final edition on August 30, 1991, leaving the Daily Press as the only major newspaper based in Newport News.

Between 1913 and 1986, the papers were owned and managed by members of the Van Buren and Bottom families. In 1986, the Tribune Company bought the Daily Press and named Joseph D. Cantrell president and publisher. Cantrell was followed by Jack W. Davis Jr. (1994–1998), Kathleen Waltz (1998–2000), Rondra Mathews (2000–2006) and Digby Solomon (2006–present).

Alumni of the newspaper include Tony Snow, who served as editorial page editor from 1982 to 1984 and went on to become a nationally syndicated columnist and White House press secretary under President George W. Bush from April 2006 until September 2007. Between 1988 and 2003, award-winning metro columnist Jim Spencer was the paper’s most prominent voice, and David Teel is one of the most respected sports columnists along the Eastern Seaboard. The newspaper has had a reputation for outstanding photography.

References

External links

• Daily Press official website