The Reporter (Lansdale)

Infobox Newspaper
name = The Reporter
type = Daily newspaper
format = Broadsheet
foundation = October 27, 1870
(as the "Lansdale Reporter")
price = 50 cents weekdays, $1.50 Sunday
owners = Journal Register Company
publisher = Dena Fritz
executive editor = Nona Breaux
circulation =
headquarters = 307 Derstine Ave.
Lansdale, PA 19446
USA
ISSN =
website = [http://www.thereporteronline.com]

"The Reporter" is the local newspaper based out of Lansdale, Pennsylvania owned by Journal Register Company. It primarily serves the communities in the North Penn and Souderton Area School Districts, including Lansdale Borough, Montgomery Township, Hatfield Township, Hatfield Borough, North Wales Borough, Towamencin Township, Skippack Township, Souderton Borough, Telford Borough, and other municipalities in northwest suburban Montgomery County in southeast Pennsylvania. "The Reporter" traces its founding to October 27, 1870 when the "Lansdale Reporter" was a weekly four-page advertising missive. Its founder was Frederick Wagner.

The "Lansdale Reporter" focused on closely-knit community news, with articles discussing trivial news ranging from Miss Grendle's visit to the Bauer Family on a Friday to John Smith making the crowd laugh at his birthday bash. By 1915, the paper was a bona fide information tool. "Even after Lansdale became a borough in 1872, The Reporter didn't cover council meetings right away," Lansdale Historical Society President Dick Shearer said. "The Reporter was primarily a print shop device."

By 1918, the region at three newspapers: The "Lansdale Reporter," "The Republican" and "The North Penn Review." "The Review" was bought out by "The Republican" and became the "Republican-Review."

In 1923, Walter Sanborn, the owner of the "Lansdale Reporter" sold the newspaper to "Republican-Review" publisher Chester Knipe, who merged it with his paper.

"The Republican-Review-Reporter" was shortened to "The Reporter-Review." In 1927, Sanborn bought the paper back from Knipe and renamed it "The North Penn Reporter."

Prior to the merger on August 17, 1922, an edition called "The North Penn Review" featured Lansdale's 50th anniversary on its front page.

The paper celebrated its 100th anniversary on November 1, 1970. At this time subscription rates were $17 for one year.

It was announced on December 27, 2007 that publisher Angel Hernandez would be leaving to be publisher of Berks-Mont Newspapers. Former publisher Dena Fritz returned on January 2, 2008 as publisher of The Reporter after being moved as publisher of The Times Herald in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Since Journal Register Company sees The Times Herald as a more profitable newspaper than The Reporter, to move publishers from a larger paper to a smaller paper is a demotion.

In May 2008, Journal Register Company was removed from the New York Stock Exchange due to very low shares. It reported a net loss of $72.2 million or $1.84 per diluted share, for the first quarter of March 30, 2008. In April 2007, it had an income from continuing operations of $1.5 million or $0.04 per diluted share.The net loss includes a $95.4 million, $70.2 million net of tax, or $1.78 per share, non-cash charge for the impairment of assets under the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards. [cite web
url= http://www.journalregister.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=310&Itemid=1 | title=Journal Register Reports First Quarter 2008 Results | accessdate=2008-07-09] Currently, all products of Journal Register, including its newspapers and structures, are for sale.

On September 8, 2008, the price of a daily newsstand copy of "The Reporter" increased from 50 cents to 75 cents.

References

"The Reporter Remembers: Covering Our Community for 135 years." Published by The Reporter, Lansdale, PA.

External links

*cite web
title= The Reporter Newspaper Web site
url= http://www.thereporteronline.com
accessdate=2008-07-08
*cite web
title= Journal Register Company Web site
url= http://www.journalregister.com
accessdate=2007-07-08