Landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. Context is provided by the broader communications and media timeline.
Precursors
1874 Oakland Tribune founded by George Stanford and Benet Dewes
1884 Pasadena Star-News founded
1885 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin founded
1890 Redlands Daily Facts founded
1894 San Bernardino Sun founded
1897 Press-Telegram of Long Beach founded
1900 Whittier Daily News founded
1911 LA Daily News founded as Van Nuys News
1955 San Gabriel Valley Tribune founded
1959 Oakland Tribune sells radio KLX (later KEWB) to Crowell-Collier for US$0.75m
1970 Richard Scudder & brother sell Newark News and Garden State Paper to Media General for US$35m
1983 Robert Maynard leads MBO of Oakland Tribune
Establishment
1983 MediaNews formed by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder
1983 buys Gloucester County Times for US$10m and Salem Sunbeam
1985 buys Hayward Daily Review chain in California
1985 buys Sparks Newspapers chain in California
1986 buys Alameda Times-Star
1986 buys Dallas Times-Herald from Toronto Sun
1987 buys Denver Post from Times-Mirror
1987 buys Houston Post for US$150m from Toronto Sun
1988 sells Dallas Times-Herald
1991 sells Hudson Dispatch
1992 closes Elizabeth Daily Journal
Expansion
1994 MediaGeneral sells holdings in Garden State Newspapers to MediaNews
1995 buys Eagle Publishing (Berkshire Eagle, Middletown Press, Brattleboro Reformer and Bennington Banner)
1995 sells 1995 buys Middletown Press to JRC for US$5.5m
1995 closes Houston Post, sells assets to Hearst for US$120m
1996 buys San Mateo Times and six weeklies
1996 buys San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, Whittier Daily News and ten community weeklies from Thomson
1996 buys Times-Standard group in California from Thomson
1997 buys Forbes Newspapers from Forbes
1997 buys Long Beach Press-Telegram from Knight-Ridder
1997 sells North Jersey Herald & News and 11 weeklies
1998 buys Pacifica Tribune and Milpitas Post
1998 buys Los Angeles Daily News from Jack Kent Cooke
1998 buys Farmington (New Mexico) Daily Times
1999 forms partnership with Donrey Media Group (newspapers in California)
1999 buys Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and Redlands Daily Facts from Donrey
1999 buys San Bernardino Sun from Gannett
1999 takes stake in AdOne Classified Network
1999 buys California Independent Postal System (CIPS) Marketing Group Inc in partnership with Times Mirror
1999 increases stake in Denver Newspapers Inc to 60% with purchase of 20% from Media General for US$39m
1999 buys Town Crier group of newspapers in New England
1999 takes major stake in online JobExchange, Inc
1999 buys Deming (New Mexico) Headlight
2000 buys Ayer Public Spirit, Groton Landmark, Pepperell Free Press, Townsend Times, Harvard Hillside and Shirley Oracle
2000 sells Gloucester County Times, Salem Today’s Sunbeam, Bridgeton Evening News, Easton Express-Times and around 37 New Jersey papers to Advance
2000 buys Connecticut Post and 4 other papers from Thomson
2000 sells Daily NonPareil and buys Carlsbad Current-Argus
2000 buys Marin Independent Journal from Gannett Co
2000 buys Kearns-Tribune (Salt Lake Tribune) from AT&T for US$200m
2001 sells Lompoc Record to Pulitzer
2001 buys Lake County Record Bee in Lakeport
2005 buys Detroit News from Gannett