Foster's Daily Democrat
Encyclopedia
Foster's Daily Democrat is a six-day (Monday-Saturday) morning broadsheet
newspaper
published in Dover, New Hampshire
, USA, covering southeast New Hampshire
and southwest Maine
. A sister paper, Foster's Sunday Citizen, publishes on Sunday.
In addition to its Dover headquarters, Foster's maintains news bureaus in Rochester
and Portsmouth, New Hampshire
.
Founded by Joshua L. Foster
on June 18, 1873, the paper was named after the U.S. Democratic Party, which then was the conservative and less-popular party in New England
. Foster was already known, by then, as a political firebrand; one of his previous publishing ventures had been the States and Union, a pro-slavery paper in nearby Portsmouth, New Hampshire
, during the American Civil War
.
Foster's Daily Democrat still takes a conservative line in its editorial pages, and its editorials tends to back Republicans. Foster's endorsed George W. Bush
in the 2000 New Hampshire primary
, although the paper backed no one in the general election. It also endorsed District 1 Congressman Jeb Bradley
on a number of occasions and it is considered rare for a Democratic candidate to get an endorsement from Foster's. Foster's is in favor of the death penalty.
In the 2004 New Hampshire Democratic primary, the paper endorsed Joe Lieberman
, generally considered a more conservative Democrat. Yet its editorial stated that readers should be "absolutely clear on one thing. Foster's Daily Democrat remains fully supportive of President Bush."
In 1988, editor Rodney G. Doherty described himself as a "black sheep" of journalism and said he edits "a blue-collar paper." He said he prefers a hard-news, top-down style of newsroom management, with young reporters filing several quick stories based on assignments from editors, rather than longer, more analytical pieces. He said likes to see reporters write about "what is news, rather than what they think is the news."
Colin Manning, who wrote Foster's statehouse notebook, later went on to be New Hampshire governor John Lynch's communications director.
As of 2009, Doherty is the executive editor of the paper. The managing editor is Mary Pat Rowland. The assistant managing editor is Mike Gillis. The editorial page editor is Jon Breen.
Foster's Daily Democrat was an afternoon publication for 135 years until November 26, 2007, when it switched to morning publication. At the time, Doherty said morning publication would be more convenient for readers, and would allow the paper to update its Website earlier in the day. The Citizen had converted to morning publication almost a year earlier.
, as well as both AP and locally generated sports stories.
Sections and pullouts for the daily paper include main news and an award-winning sports section every day, plus:
, a daily newspaper based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
. In response to the Herald taking a chip out of Foster's Portsmouth market, Foster's now prints a Portsmouth Region page on page A3 or A5. Foster's also competes with the statewide daily New Hampshire Union Leader
and its sister Sunday paper, New Hampshire Sunday News.
In the late 1990s, the Geo. J. Foster Company
launched Foster's Sunday Citizen to compete with Herald Sunday and the New Hampshire Sunday News. The Sunday paper is a joint venture by Foster's and its sister paper in Laconia, New Hampshire
, The Citizen
, also owned by Geo. J. Foster Company.
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
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...
published in Dover, New Hampshire
Dover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
, USA, covering southeast New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and southwest Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. A sister paper, Foster's Sunday Citizen, publishes on Sunday.
In addition to its Dover headquarters, Foster's maintains news bureaus in Rochester
Rochester, New Hampshire
Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 29,752. The city includes the villages of East Rochester and Gonic. Rochester is home to Skyhaven Airport and the annual Rochester Fair....
and Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
.
History and politics
Joshua L. Foster
Joshua Lane Foster was the founder of the newspaper Foster's Daily Democrat in 1872. Originally he founded the newspaper as a pro-slavery alternate view to the anti-slavery North-East. The Democrat is still run today by the Foster family...
on June 18, 1873, the paper was named after the U.S. Democratic Party, which then was the conservative and less-popular party in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Foster was already known, by then, as a political firebrand; one of his previous publishing ventures had been the States and Union, a pro-slavery paper in nearby Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Foster's Daily Democrat still takes a conservative line in its editorial pages, and its editorials tends to back Republicans. Foster's endorsed George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in the 2000 New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...
, although the paper backed no one in the general election. It also endorsed District 1 Congressman Jeb Bradley
Jeb Bradley
Joseph E. "Jeb" Bradley is a Republican member of the New Hampshire State Senate, currently serving as Senate Majority Leader. He represents his hometown of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and 16 other towns in east-central New Hampshire. He was formerly a U.S...
on a number of occasions and it is considered rare for a Democratic candidate to get an endorsement from Foster's. Foster's is in favor of the death penalty.
In the 2004 New Hampshire Democratic primary, the paper endorsed Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
, generally considered a more conservative Democrat. Yet its editorial stated that readers should be "absolutely clear on one thing. Foster's Daily Democrat remains fully supportive of President Bush."
In 1988, editor Rodney G. Doherty described himself as a "black sheep" of journalism and said he edits "a blue-collar paper." He said he prefers a hard-news, top-down style of newsroom management, with young reporters filing several quick stories based on assignments from editors, rather than longer, more analytical pieces. He said likes to see reporters write about "what is news, rather than what they think is the news."
Colin Manning, who wrote Foster's statehouse notebook, later went on to be New Hampshire governor John Lynch's communications director.
As of 2009, Doherty is the executive editor of the paper. The managing editor is Mary Pat Rowland. The assistant managing editor is Mike Gillis. The editorial page editor is Jon Breen.
Foster's Daily Democrat was an afternoon publication for 135 years until November 26, 2007, when it switched to morning publication. At the time, Doherty said morning publication would be more convenient for readers, and would allow the paper to update its Website earlier in the day. The Citizen had converted to morning publication almost a year earlier.
News and features
Foster's news focus is mainly on local public meetings and police reporting with community features and local sports also included. Regular features include advice columns, stock tables, classified advertising, comic strips, obituaries, television listings and local lottery numbers. The newspaper also carries entertainment, world and national news from the Associated PressAssociated 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...
, as well as both AP and locally generated sports stories.
Sections and pullouts for the daily paper include main news and an award-winning sports section every day, plus:
- Local page, every day, which includes Tri-City (Dover, Rochester and Somersworth area news) This page, following a redesign that was completed in November 2007, now constitutes Page B1 daily (Mon-Sat)
- Coast page, every day, which covers the greater Portsmouth area. This page was also part of the redesign in 2007 and runs on Page A3 daily (Mon-Sat)
- Education page, Thursday, with local education news and honor rolls
- Community Weekend, Friday, with event and religion listings
- Showcase, Thursday, with local arts and entertainment news
- Your Home, a local real estate section
Sisters and competitors
Foster's competes head-to-head with The Portsmouth HeraldThe Portsmouth Herald
The Portsmouth Herald is a seven-day daily newspaper serving greater Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Its coverage area also includes the municipalities of Greenland, New Castle, Newington and Rye, New Hampshire; and Eliot, Kittery, Kittery Point and South Berwick, Maine.News Corporation acquired The...
, a daily newspaper based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
. In response to the Herald taking a chip out of Foster's Portsmouth market, Foster's now prints a Portsmouth Region page on page A3 or A5. Foster's also competes with the statewide daily New Hampshire Union Leader
New Hampshire Union Leader
The New Hampshire Union Leader is the daily newspaper of Manchester, the largest city in the state of New Hampshire. As of September 2010 it had a daily circulation of 48,342 and the circulation of its Sunday paper, the New Hampshire Sunday News, was 63,991. It was founded in 1863.It was called...
and its sister Sunday paper, New Hampshire Sunday News.
In the late 1990s, the Geo. J. Foster Company
Geo. J. Foster Company
The Geo. J. Foster Company, also known as the George J. Foster Company, is a private company based in Dover, New Hampshire.The longtime publisher of Foster's Daily Democrat, a daily newspaper based in Dover and covering the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire, Foster owned The Citizen of Laconia, New...
launched Foster's Sunday Citizen to compete with Herald Sunday and the New Hampshire Sunday News. The Sunday paper is a joint venture by Foster's and its sister paper in Laconia, New Hampshire
Laconia, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,411 people, 6,724 households, and 4,168 families residing in the city. The population density was 809.3 people per square mile . There were 8,554 housing units at an average density of 421.8 per square mile...
, The Citizen
The Citizen (Laconia)
The Citizen is a six day a week, morning daily newspaper in Laconia, New Hampshire, USA, the largest local paper serving the Lakes Region of that state. It has been owned since 1991 by Geo. J...
, also owned by Geo. J. Foster Company.