The Columbus Citizen-Journal
Encyclopedia
The Columbus Citizen-Journal was a daily morning newspaper in Columbus, Ohio
published by the Scripps Howard
company. It was formed in 1959 by the merger of The Columbus Citizen and The Ohio State Journal. It shared printing facilities, as well as business, advertising, and circulation staff in a joint operating agreement with The Columbus Dispatch
. The last paper printed was on December 31, 1985.
in Ohio was set up in Worthington
by two New England
natives. Two years later, the Worthington Intelligencer was established. Operations were moved to nearby Columbus in 1814 after it became the state's new capital. The newspaper was eventually renamed the Ohio State Journal, and it became the official mouthpiece
of the Republican Party
in the late 1850s, guided by its editor and proprietor, James M. Comly
. Following Comly's military service during the American Civil War
, he returned to Columbus and rapidly established the Journal as one of the leading newspapers in Ohio. Through his editorials, Comly is considered by many to have been instrumental in helping Rutherford B. Hayes
be elected Governor of Ohio and later, President of the United States
. Comly left the paper in 1872 when he was named to a diplomatic post in Hawaii
, but his guidance had firmly established its importance in Ohio politics and news reporting. Shortly after the start of the 20th Century, the paper was purchased by the Wolfe family
. In 1950, they merged the Ohio State Journal with the Dispatch Printing Company.
The rival Columbus Citizen had been founded in 1899 as an independent newspaper not affiliated with a political party. In 1959, it was merged with the Ohio State Journal to form the Columbus Citizen-Journal.
The Columbus Citizen-Journal was owned by E.W. Scripps Company, as was the Columbus Citizen before it. After the Dispatch decided to end the joint operating agreement, Scripps sold it to a Bath Township (eastern Ohio) businessman, who intended to publish the Columbus Citizen-Journal past January 1, 1986. However, on December 30, 1985, he gave the Journal back to Scripps, which closed the newspaper on December 31, 1985, when the joint operating agreement with Dispatch Printing Company expired. The Dispatch Printing Company subsequently moved The Columbus Dispatch from afternoon publication to morning publication on January 1, 1986.
Under the 26-year joint operating agreement that the two companies had signed in 1959, both papers were printed on The Dispatch Printing Co. printing presses. The Dispatch Printing Co. collected advertising and circulation revenue, and paid most operating expenses for both papers, while Scripps owned The Citizen-Journal's circulation lists and independently operated that paper's editorial department. More than three years prior to the Dec. 31, 1985 termination of the joint operating agreement, Dispatch executives informed Scripps that they did not wish to renew of the contract.
Scripps-Howard, a publicly-traded company, was at the time one of the largest media conglomerates in the country, and owned 14 newspapers, seven TV stations, nine cable-TV companies, seven radio stations and other media. Circulation at the Columbus Citizen-Journal had been on the rise in recent years, and Scripps reported that it was a profitable property for Scripps for most of the 26-year arrangement. Scripps, however, demonstrated a pattern of closing or selling off newspapers that were in difficult competitive positions, rather than invest in them; in the previous three years, Scripps had closed such daily newspapers in Memphis and Cleveland, and subsequently the company has done the same at several other newspapers, most recently The Rocky Mountain News of Denver, in 2009. In Columbus, after Dispatch executives cut off talks in 1982, Scripps-Howard chose to not purchase or build its own presses, or to develop its own business operations, and instead sought more talks in an attempt to renew or replace the expiring contract. The Dispatch Printing Co. declined, and even publicly announced, in its newspaper, in June 1983, its intentions to sever all ties with Scripps. A late-1985 Scripps strategy to sell the newspaper to independent businessman Nyles V. Reinfeld changed nothing, and the Columbus Citizen-Journal published for the last time on Dec. 31, 1985.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
published by the Scripps Howard
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878. The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."On October 16, 2007, the company...
company. It was formed in 1959 by the merger of The Columbus Citizen and The Ohio State Journal. It shared printing facilities, as well as business, advertising, and circulation staff in a joint operating agreement with The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since The Columbus Citizen-Journal stopped printing in 1985....
. The last paper printed was on December 31, 1985.
History
In 1809, the first printing pressPrinting press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
in Ohio was set up in Worthington
Worthington, Ohio
-Dissolution of the Company:By August 11, 1804 the plat maps were completed, payments or notes promising payments collected and deeds prepared for all sixteen thousand acres of the Scioto Company's purchase...
by two 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...
natives. Two years later, the Worthington Intelligencer was established. Operations were moved to nearby Columbus in 1814 after it became the state's new capital. The newspaper was eventually renamed the Ohio State Journal, and it became the official mouthpiece
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in the late 1850s, guided by its editor and proprietor, James M. Comly
James M. Comly
James Munroe Stuart Comly was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as well as a journalist, attorney, newspaper editor and owner, historian and diplomat. He was instrumental in advancing the political career of his friend Rutherford B...
. Following Comly's military service 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...
, he returned to Columbus and rapidly established the Journal as one of the leading newspapers in Ohio. Through his editorials, Comly is considered by many to have been instrumental in helping Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
be elected Governor of Ohio and later, President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Comly left the paper in 1872 when he was named to a diplomatic post in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, but his guidance had firmly established its importance in Ohio politics and news reporting. Shortly after the start of the 20th Century, the paper was purchased by the Wolfe family
Robert F. Wolfe
According to biographies supplied by the Columbus Foundation and the Columbus Dispatch, newspaper founder Robert F. Wolfe arrived in Columbus, Ohio in 1888 and found work as a shoemaker, eventually beginning the Wolfe Brothers Shoe Company. In 1903, he bought the Ohio State Journal with his...
. In 1950, they merged the Ohio State Journal with the Dispatch Printing Company.
The rival Columbus Citizen had been founded in 1899 as an independent newspaper not affiliated with a political party. In 1959, it was merged with the Ohio State Journal to form the Columbus Citizen-Journal.
The Columbus Citizen-Journal was owned by E.W. Scripps Company, as was the Columbus Citizen before it. After the Dispatch decided to end the joint operating agreement, Scripps sold it to a Bath Township (eastern Ohio) businessman, who intended to publish the Columbus Citizen-Journal past January 1, 1986. However, on December 30, 1985, he gave the Journal back to Scripps, which closed the newspaper on December 31, 1985, when the joint operating agreement with Dispatch Printing Company expired. The Dispatch Printing Company subsequently moved The Columbus Dispatch from afternoon publication to morning publication on January 1, 1986.
Controversy regarding end of circulation
The Columbus Citizen-Journal stopped printing after failed contract renegotiations for a joint operating agreement with the owners of the rival paper The Columbus Dispatch, The Dispatch Printing Co., which was controlled by the Wolfe family of Columbus. The Dispatch Printing Co. and Scripps-Howard, as the Scripps company was known in the mid-1980s, blamed each other for the demise of the Citizen-Journal."Under the 26-year joint operating agreement that the two companies had signed in 1959, both papers were printed on The Dispatch Printing Co. printing presses. The Dispatch Printing Co. collected advertising and circulation revenue, and paid most operating expenses for both papers, while Scripps owned The Citizen-Journal's circulation lists and independently operated that paper's editorial department. More than three years prior to the Dec. 31, 1985 termination of the joint operating agreement, Dispatch executives informed Scripps that they did not wish to renew of the contract.
Scripps-Howard, a publicly-traded company, was at the time one of the largest media conglomerates in the country, and owned 14 newspapers, seven TV stations, nine cable-TV companies, seven radio stations and other media. Circulation at the Columbus Citizen-Journal had been on the rise in recent years, and Scripps reported that it was a profitable property for Scripps for most of the 26-year arrangement. Scripps, however, demonstrated a pattern of closing or selling off newspapers that were in difficult competitive positions, rather than invest in them; in the previous three years, Scripps had closed such daily newspapers in Memphis and Cleveland, and subsequently the company has done the same at several other newspapers, most recently The Rocky Mountain News of Denver, in 2009. In Columbus, after Dispatch executives cut off talks in 1982, Scripps-Howard chose to not purchase or build its own presses, or to develop its own business operations, and instead sought more talks in an attempt to renew or replace the expiring contract. The Dispatch Printing Co. declined, and even publicly announced, in its newspaper, in June 1983, its intentions to sever all ties with Scripps. A late-1985 Scripps strategy to sell the newspaper to independent businessman Nyles V. Reinfeld changed nothing, and the Columbus Citizen-Journal published for the last time on Dec. 31, 1985.