Antelope Valley Press
Encyclopedia
The Antelope Valley Press, colloquially referred to as the Valley Press or AV Press by its staff and Antelope Valley
residents, is a daily newspaper
with emphasis on local news located in Palmdale
, California
USA
. It is the largest circulating newspaper in the area. The Valley Press covers the fast growing Antelope Valley - especially the Palmdale/Lancaster
Urbanized Area (a US Census Bureau defined term) and adjacent areas of north Los Angeles and southeastern Kern counties, including the upscale Los Angeles
urban escapes of Acton
and Agua Dulce
. The newspaper is conservative in its political stance.
Other adjacent areas the Valley Press covers on an as-needed basis include the Victor Valley, Bakersfield
and the southern San Joaquin Valley
, and the Greater Los Angeles Area
. This is especially true for aerospace
related stories and local high school
and college
level sports.
On July 1, 1958, four men initiated a partnership between the Markham and Odett families. Arthur F. Folz was president of the board of directors in 1958, with Ralph and his brother Maurice W. Markham as vice presidents and Lamont Odett Sr. as secretary-treasurer. Ralph H. Markham bought out Maurice W. Markham, and Lamont Odett Sr. bought out Arthur F. Folz on April 1, 1961, to create the partnership of Ralph H. Markham and Lamont Odett Sr. In October 1975, Lamont Odett Sr. died and sons Bill and Monty Odett Jr. became co-publishers. On March 1, 1981, William C. Markham joined the Odetts in daily management of the paper and was elected corporate vice president and advertising director. William C. Markham became president of the board of directors after Ralph H. Markham's death in November 1985.
The Markham family became sole owners of the Antelope Valley Press in January 1994. William C. Markham is president and publisher. The William Odett family had father William and his son Lamont ("Monty") Odett Sr. running the day to day operations of The Yuma Morning Sun (Now The Yuma Sun) with William's new wife Miriam as part of the team in the circa 1925 to 1935 period in Yuma
, Arizona
. When the Morning Sun changed ownership in 1935, the Odetts moved to the San Fernando Valley and later to Palmdale.
The paper later dropped the "South" from its nameplate, and became simply the Antelope Valley Press by the early 1960s. It was a Thursday afternoon weekly until 1959 when a Sunday edition debuted. The Tuesday edition was added in 1969, followed by Friday (1982) and Wednesday (1988), Saturday (1992) and finally the Monday edition in 1998, making the Antelope Valley Press a full-fledged daily newspaper - perhaps the first Mojave Desert
California based newspaper to commence daily publishing with morning delivery. The paper remains in family hands, and has never been corporately owned or had nonlocal ownership.
The newspaper moved into the digital age beginning in 1986 when City Editor Bill MacKenzie was given the assignment to find a publishing system. The result of that search was the installation of a Morris Publishing System network of personal computers for both classified and editorial requirements. That classified system was replaced in 1999 with Digital Technology Internal equipment. Editorial followed in 2002 to make the paper completely paginated in one system. The classified system was upgraded in early 2005 and the editorial system will be upgraded by year's end.
A Valley Press legacy to the motorists of the Antelope Valley, as well as California and beyond is the Antelope Valley Freeway, which Lamont "Monty" Odett, Sr., championed in dealing with California state legislators in the 1950s and 1960s. Lamont Odett Vista Point - an Antelope Valley freeway rest area overlooking Palmdale - is named in his honor.
The paper, long Republican leaning, is gradually changing under its current publisher to reflect the current population and opinion trends of newer Valley residents. As a result, it will often publish two opinion pieces side by side of opposing persuasions. The featured writers in them increasingly are local residents with strongly held views, which can become controversial at times.
Dennis Anderson, a former wire-service reporter, became editor of the Valley Press in 1999. In December 2010, the Los Angeles Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists announced that he would be one of five distinguished journalists to be honored by the chapter at its March 2011 awards banquet, representing the print under 100,000 circulation category. SPJ cited the paper as the only family-owned independent daily newspaper in Los Angeles County and the winner of six general excellence rankings from the National Newspaper Association, one from Suburban Newspapers of America and a first place Freedom of Information award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association. In 2004, SNA and the American Press Institute named Anderson Journalist of the Year for his articles, written while embedded with the California National Guard in Iraq, about local citizen soldiers. Anderson and his son, Garrett, who fought as a Marine in second battle of Fallujah, are writing a family book about Marine Corps war casualties from World War I to Iraq.
Competitors in its market are the Daily News - Antelope Valley
and the Los Angeles Times
, both based in Los Angeles.
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
residents, is a daily newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
with emphasis on local news located in Palmdale
Palmdale, California
Palmdale is a city located in the center of northern Los Angeles County, California, United States.Palmdale was the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city on August 24, 1962; 47 years later, voters approved creating a charter city in November, 2009. Palmdale is...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the largest circulating newspaper in the area. The Valley Press covers the fast growing Antelope Valley - especially the Palmdale/Lancaster
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
Urbanized Area (a US Census Bureau defined term) and adjacent areas of north Los Angeles and southeastern Kern counties, including the upscale Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
urban escapes of Acton
Acton, California
Acton was founded in 1887 by gold miners who were working in the Red Rover Mine. It was named after Acton, Massachusetts by one of the miners. Two of the best-known gold mines located in Acton were the Red Rover mine and the Governors mine. Mining of gold, copper, and titanium ore continued into...
and Agua Dulce
Agua Dulce, California
Agua Dulce is a census-designated place located in Los Angeles County, California. It lies at an elevation of 2,526 feet . Agua Dulce is located just north of Santa Clarita. The town has a population of about 4,000. It is located at and covers a geographic area of about...
. The newspaper is conservative in its political stance.
Other adjacent areas the Valley Press covers on an as-needed basis include the Victor Valley, Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
and the southern San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
, and the Greater Los Angeles Area
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
. This is especially true for aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
related stories and local high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
level sports.
History
The Valley Press was founded by A.J. Hicks on Saturday, April 3, 1915 as the Palmdale Post. At the time, the Valley was home to about 3,500 people. Over the decades of the 20th century, the newspaper changed hands, and there were a few name changes as well. On May 4, 1950, the paper became known as the South Antelope Valley Press.On July 1, 1958, four men initiated a partnership between the Markham and Odett families. Arthur F. Folz was president of the board of directors in 1958, with Ralph and his brother Maurice W. Markham as vice presidents and Lamont Odett Sr. as secretary-treasurer. Ralph H. Markham bought out Maurice W. Markham, and Lamont Odett Sr. bought out Arthur F. Folz on April 1, 1961, to create the partnership of Ralph H. Markham and Lamont Odett Sr. In October 1975, Lamont Odett Sr. died and sons Bill and Monty Odett Jr. became co-publishers. On March 1, 1981, William C. Markham joined the Odetts in daily management of the paper and was elected corporate vice president and advertising director. William C. Markham became president of the board of directors after Ralph H. Markham's death in November 1985.
The Markham family became sole owners of the Antelope Valley Press in January 1994. William C. Markham is president and publisher. The William Odett family had father William and his son Lamont ("Monty") Odett Sr. running the day to day operations of The Yuma Morning Sun (Now The Yuma Sun) with William's new wife Miriam as part of the team in the circa 1925 to 1935 period in Yuma
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. When the Morning Sun changed ownership in 1935, the Odetts moved to the San Fernando Valley and later to Palmdale.
The paper later dropped the "South" from its nameplate, and became simply the Antelope Valley Press by the early 1960s. It was a Thursday afternoon weekly until 1959 when a Sunday edition debuted. The Tuesday edition was added in 1969, followed by Friday (1982) and Wednesday (1988), Saturday (1992) and finally the Monday edition in 1998, making the Antelope Valley Press a full-fledged daily newspaper - perhaps the first Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
California based newspaper to commence daily publishing with morning delivery. The paper remains in family hands, and has never been corporately owned or had nonlocal ownership.
Technology and editorial outlook
The Valley Press was famed locally from the late 1950s for its peach-colored newsprint while under the Odett/Markham family ownership. The paper stopped using peach newsprint in 1975 due to expense and the increased use of color.The newspaper moved into the digital age beginning in 1986 when City Editor Bill MacKenzie was given the assignment to find a publishing system. The result of that search was the installation of a Morris Publishing System network of personal computers for both classified and editorial requirements. That classified system was replaced in 1999 with Digital Technology Internal equipment. Editorial followed in 2002 to make the paper completely paginated in one system. The classified system was upgraded in early 2005 and the editorial system will be upgraded by year's end.
A Valley Press legacy to the motorists of the Antelope Valley, as well as California and beyond is the Antelope Valley Freeway, which Lamont "Monty" Odett, Sr., championed in dealing with California state legislators in the 1950s and 1960s. Lamont Odett Vista Point - an Antelope Valley freeway rest area overlooking Palmdale - is named in his honor.
The paper, long Republican leaning, is gradually changing under its current publisher to reflect the current population and opinion trends of newer Valley residents. As a result, it will often publish two opinion pieces side by side of opposing persuasions. The featured writers in them increasingly are local residents with strongly held views, which can become controversial at times.
Dennis Anderson, a former wire-service reporter, became editor of the Valley Press in 1999. In December 2010, the Los Angeles Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists announced that he would be one of five distinguished journalists to be honored by the chapter at its March 2011 awards banquet, representing the print under 100,000 circulation category. SPJ cited the paper as the only family-owned independent daily newspaper in Los Angeles County and the winner of six general excellence rankings from the National Newspaper Association, one from Suburban Newspapers of America and a first place Freedom of Information award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association. In 2004, SNA and the American Press Institute named Anderson Journalist of the Year for his articles, written while embedded with the California National Guard in Iraq, about local citizen soldiers. Anderson and his son, Garrett, who fought as a Marine in second battle of Fallujah, are writing a family book about Marine Corps war casualties from World War I to Iraq.
Competitors in its market are the Daily News - Antelope Valley
Daily News - Antelope Valley
The Daily News - Antelope Valley is the Palmdale, California area's second largest circulating daily newspaper. It is owned by the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, whose flagship publication is the Los Angeles Daily News....
and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, both based in Los Angeles.