Pulitzer and Lee: chronology
Chronology
This chronology is indicative only.
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It covers -
- Pulitzer beginnings (1847)
- establishment of Lee group (1890)
- second generation (1912)
- Pulitzer moves out of broadcasting (1996)
- Lee and Pulitzer merger announced (2005)
Context is provided by the broader communications and media timeline.
Pulitzer beginnings
1847 Joseph Pulitzer born in Mako, Hungary
1864 jumps ship in Boston
1868 becomes journalist with Westliche Post, St Louis German language daily
1870 elected to Missouri State Assembly
1872 buys controlling interest in Westlische Post, renamed St Louis Post, for US$3,000
1878 buys St Louis Dispatch for US$2,700 and merges it with Post as Post-Dispatch
1883 buys New York World for US $346,000 and revives through yellow journalism
1890 Pulitzer withdraws from editorship of World and spends rest of life in padded 'vaults' communicating with underlings through private code
Establishment of Lee group
1890 Alfred Wilson Lee acquires Ottumwa (Iowa) Courier, foundation of Lee newspaper group
1898 Pulitzer outdoes Hearst in yellow journalism about Spanish-American War
1899 Lee and associates acquired controlling interest in The Davenport Times for US$20,000
1903 Lee buys Muscatine Journal from brother-in-law's family
1907 Lee and associates buy La Crosse (Wisconsin) Tribune
1907 Lee and Courier-Post Publishing buy Hannibal (Missouri) Courier-Post
1907 death of AW Lee, control of group passes to Emanuel Adler and James Powell
1909 Pulitzer's World alleges corruption in purchase of Panama Canal; Pulitzer indicted for criminal libel of President Teddy Roosevelt and JP Morgan
1911 Pulitzer dies on board yacht
Second generation
1912 Columbia School of Journalism founded using US$2m Pulitzer bequest
1915 Lee buys controlling interest in Davenport Democrat
1917 first Pulitzer Prizes awarded
1919 Lee buys Madison Wisconsin State Journal
1922 KSD St Louis launched
1925 Lee buys Mason City Globe-Gazette
1926 Lee buys Kewanee (Illinois) Star-Courier
1930 Lee buys Lincoln (Nebraska) Star, later merged with State Journal
1931 New York World sold to Scripps for US$5m, merged with Telegram
1937 Lee establishes radio station in Mason City
1951 Davenport Democrat becomes Morning Democrat
1954 Lee launches KGLO-TV station in Mason City
1959 buys Anaconda Copper's newspapers in Anaconda, Billings, Butte, Helena, Missoula and Livingston
1959 buys Racine Journal Times and Corvallis Gazette-Times
1964 Davenport Times and Morning Democrat become the Times-Democrat
1969 goes public
1969 sells Hannibal Courier-Post to Stauffer
1975 buys Blackhawk film library, later sold
1977 sells KGLO-TV
1979 buys controlling stake in Bismarck Tribune
1979 buys Carbondale Southern Illinoisan (est 1947)
1979 buys Decatur Herald & Review
1979 buys Edwardsville Intelligencer, later sold to Hearst Corporation
1979 buys Winona Daily News
1986 sells KFAB to Henry Broadcasting
1992 buys Rapid City Journal
1995 buys out partners in Nebraska Journal-Star Printing Co., merging Lincoln Journal with Lincoln Star
1996 Pulitzer buys Scripps League newspapers for US$216m
1996 Lee sells stake in NAPP Systems
1996 Pulitzer buys Kauai Publishing Company
1997 Lee buys two daily newspapers in Oregon and weekly and shopper publications in Oregon and Washington (inc Nickel classified publications in Seattle, Spokane and Portland)
Pulitzer moves out of broadcasting
1998 Pulitzer group's 9 television and 5 radio stations sold to Hearst
1998 buys Troy Daily News and Miami Valley Sunday News
1999 sells Ravalli Republic (est 1899) to Lee
1999 Lee buys Beatrice Daily Sun, sells papers in Ottumwa and Kewanee
1999 buys Columbia Falls Hungry Horse News (est 1946), Whitefish Pilot (est 1904) and North Valley Advertiser
2000 buys three weeklies and two dailies in Nebraska, including Columbus Telegram and Fremont Tribune
2000 buys group of papers in western Wisconsin, including Chippewa Herald in Chippewa Falls, Shawano Leader, Portage Daily Register and Baraboo News Republic
2000 sells television stations (8 network-affiliated stations, 7 satellite stations) to Emmis for US$562m
2000 Pulitzer buys Selma Enterprise
2000 buys Bloomington Pantagraph
2000 buys 38 suburban weeklies from Journal Register Co.
2001 sells weekly Petaluma Argus-Courier to New York Times
2001 buys Spanish Fork Press in Utah
2001 buys buy Siebrasse Publications
2001 buys Lompoc Record from MediaNews
2002 Lee buys Howard Publications (16 daily newspapers, inc San Diego North County Times, The Times of Northwest Indiana, Waterloo Courier, Casper Star-Tribune, Twin Falls Times News and Glens Falls Post-Star) for US$694m
2003 buys remaining 50% in Sioux City Journal from Hagadone Corporation
2004 Pulitzer announces that group is for sale
2004 Lee buys Montana Land Magazine and Wyoming Land Magazine
Merger
2005 Lee Enterprises announces plan to acquire Pulitzer newspaper operations for US$1.46bn