Enterprise-Sun
Encyclopedia
The Enterprise-Sun, and its predecessors, the Hudson Daily Sun and Marlboro Enterprise, were daily newspapers covering the city of Marlborough
and adjoining town of Hudson
, both in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
.
The combined paper folded in 1995, replaced by two weekly newspaper
s -- the Marlborough Enterprise and Hudson Sun -- and the west edition of the The MetroWest Daily News, all of which are owned by Community Newspaper Company
, now part of GateHouse Media
.
Enterprise owners Dustin Lucier and Charles H. Toby bought the Daily Sun in 1922, but the combined Marlborough newsroom continued to publish two separate newspapers until 1993. Grace Mada Lucier, Dustin's widow, sold the paper to the rival Worcester Telegram in 1969.
In 1984, the papers were transferred to Beacon Communications Corporation
, a chain of a dozen weekly newspaper
s in western Middlesex County, which was published that year by the family-owned Telegram. In 1986, control passed to out-of-state interests for the first time, as the Telegram was sold to Chronicle Publishing Company
of San Francisco, California
.
In 1993, Chronicle, looking to concentrate on Worcester County
, dealt the Beacon papers to Community Newspaper Company
, which would soon become publisher of the dailies' most direct competitor, the Middlesex News (later to be renamed The MetroWest Daily News).
Up to the 1980s, both papers came out in the afternoon on weekdays; by then, they were also printing Saturday morning editions. Under the Telegram's ownership, Marlborough and Hudson converted to all-morning publication July 9, 1990, echoing the Telegram's closure of its Evening Gazette sister paper in 1986. At the time, the papers' editor said the move reflected changing reader demographics and would allow for better coverage of state and business news.
Shortly after being acquired by CNC, the papers were merged into a single Enterprise-Sun in 1993. Later that year, only three years after touting increased space for state news, the paper's new editor dropped the Associated Press
wire and began touting "All Local News" as a way to differentiate the Enterprise-Sun from its competitors.
Despite these efforts, CNC closed the Enterprise-Sun in September 1995, reassigning its staff to the Middlesex News and the new weeklies. Today the daily newspapers' names survive on the nameplates of weeklies published from CNC's Marlborough office, but most Marlborough and Hudson crime and political news appears first in The MetroWest Daily News, which shares an office and some staff with the weeklies, and publishes a separate edition for the Marlborough area.
Marlborough, Massachusetts
Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the...
and adjoining town of Hudson
Hudson, Massachusetts
Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2010 census. The town is located in central Massachusetts, about a 40-minute drive, or about , west of Boston, and about a 20-minute drive, or about , northeast of Worcester.Before its...
, both in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
.
The combined paper folded in 1995, replaced by two weekly newspaper
Weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news publication that is published on newsprint once or twice a week.Such newspapers tend to have smaller circulations than daily newspapers, and are usually based in less-populous communities or small, defined areas within large cities; often, they may cover a...
s -- the Marlborough Enterprise and Hudson Sun -- and the west edition of the The MetroWest Daily News, all of which are owned by Community Newspaper Company
Community Newspaper Company
Community Newspaper Company, a subsidiary of GateHouse Media, is a newspaper publisher in eastern Massachusetts. It was founded in 1991 as a holding company for several suburban publishers bought by Fidelity Investments; in 2001, Fidelity sold it to the Boston Herald; in 2006, the massive chain—New...
, now part of GateHouse Media
GateHouse Media
GateHouse Media Inc. is a U.S. newspaper publisher, headquartered in Perinton, New York, that publishes 97 dailies in 20 states and 198 paid weeklies, in addition to free papers, shoppers and specialty and niche publications.- History :Liberty Group Publishing was formed in 1998 when Kenneth L...
.
History
Thomas Hayden began publishing the Daily Enterprise in 1889, one year after beginning it as a weekly. Across the town line, the Hudson Daily Sun was founded by William H. Murphy in 1902. The Marlborough paper went through minor name changes, adding and dropping the words "Marlboro" and "Daily" in its name, in its century of publication.Enterprise owners Dustin Lucier and Charles H. Toby bought the Daily Sun in 1922, but the combined Marlborough newsroom continued to publish two separate newspapers until 1993. Grace Mada Lucier, Dustin's widow, sold the paper to the rival Worcester Telegram in 1969.
In 1984, the papers were transferred to Beacon Communications Corporation
Beacon Communications Corporation
Beacon Communications Corp. was a newspaper publisher in Acton, Massachusetts, USA, operating a dozen weekly newspapers as well as daily newspapers in Hudson and Marlborough, Massachusetts...
, a chain of a dozen weekly newspaper
Weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news publication that is published on newsprint once or twice a week.Such newspapers tend to have smaller circulations than daily newspapers, and are usually based in less-populous communities or small, defined areas within large cities; often, they may cover a...
s in western Middlesex County, which was published that year by the family-owned Telegram. In 1986, control passed to out-of-state interests for the first time, as the Telegram was sold to Chronicle Publishing Company
Chronicle Publishing Company
The Chronicle Publishing Company was a print and broadcast media corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California that was in operation from 1865 until 2000...
of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
In 1993, Chronicle, looking to concentrate on Worcester County
Worcester County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:In 1990 Worcester County had a population of 709,705.As of the census of 2000, there were 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 496 people per square mile . There were 298,159 housing units at an average density...
, dealt the Beacon papers to Community Newspaper Company
Community Newspaper Company
Community Newspaper Company, a subsidiary of GateHouse Media, is a newspaper publisher in eastern Massachusetts. It was founded in 1991 as a holding company for several suburban publishers bought by Fidelity Investments; in 2001, Fidelity sold it to the Boston Herald; in 2006, the massive chain—New...
, which would soon become publisher of the dailies' most direct competitor, the Middlesex News (later to be renamed The MetroWest Daily News).
Demise
Throughout the early 1990s, the Enterprise and Sun reinvented themselves in an effort to turn around declining revenues.Up to the 1980s, both papers came out in the afternoon on weekdays; by then, they were also printing Saturday morning editions. Under the Telegram
Shortly after being acquired by CNC, the papers were merged into a single Enterprise-Sun in 1993. Later that year, only three years after touting increased space for state news, the paper's new editor dropped the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
wire and began touting "All Local News" as a way to differentiate the Enterprise-Sun from its competitors.
Despite these efforts, CNC closed the Enterprise-Sun in September 1995, reassigning its staff to the Middlesex News and the new weeklies. Today the daily newspapers' names survive on the nameplates of weeklies published from CNC's Marlborough office, but most Marlborough and Hudson crime and political news appears first in The MetroWest Daily News, which shares an office and some staff with the weeklies, and publishes a separate edition for the Marlborough area.