The Free Lance–Star
Encyclopedia
The Free Lance–Star is the principal daily newspaper
distributed throughout Fredericksburg
, Virginia
, with a circulation area including the city of Fredericksburg and all or parts of the counties of Spotsylvania
, Stafford
, King George
, Caroline
, Culpeper
, Fauquier
, Louisa
, Orange
, Prince William
and Westmoreland
.
The Free Lance was first published on January 27, 1885, when a group of local merchants created the paper to serve the news and advertising needs of the community. A one-year subscription that very first year cost $1.50. In 1900, the Free Lance merged with its competing The Fredericksburg Daily Star. The two papers continued to be published separately until 1926 when, under the leadership of Josiah P. Rowe Jr., they were combined into The Free Lance–Star, a single newspaper published 6 days a week.
The paper has occupied two addresses in its history. It was founded in 1885 as a twice-weekly publication by Col. John W. Woltz and William E. Bradley from their offices at 303 William St in Fredericksburg. In 1965 the newspaper, owned and operated by members of the same family since 1926 moved to its current location at 616 Amelia Street. Charles and Josiah Rowe inherited the paper from their father in 1949, and in 1997, upon Charles’ retirement, the family of Josiah P. Rowe III purchased total ownership of the business.
Josiah Rowe announced his retirement in October 2010, and Nicholas J. Cadwallender was named publisher. Rowe will serve as publisher emeritus.
, the company’s first radio station
housed at the same location, went on the air in 1960. WFLS-FM
was added to the company in 1961. Later on, in 1994, The Star Radio Group bought 99.3 WYSK: The Rock Alternative The company purchased WWUZ
, a classic rock
-formatted station out of Bowling Green
, in 2001. In 2009, WYSK became 99.3 The Vibe (WVBX), advertised as "Fredericksburg's #1 Hit Music Station. In September 2010, the company added a sports talk station, ESPN
The Game, at AM 1350 and FM 96.5.
In the mid-1990s the company maintained a web presence under FLStarWeb.com. Those efforts have since shifted to fredericksburg.com. In 1984, The Free Lance–Star was named by Time
magazine as one of two top small daily newspapers in the country.
International Flexible Printing System. In mid-2008, the installation began for the new printing systems. Goss also provided the Ferag press gripper and storage components, plus the Magnapack packaging system with 34 packaging stations.
The 29 feet (8.8 m) high press, includes four printing towers, and two folders that are capable of being run as two separate processes. Each unit can produce 24 pages, making a total capacity of 94 full-color pages. John Jenkins, operations director at the Free Lance-Star and Print Innovators says, “The fundamental technologies are well proven, but the FPS platform presents breakthroughs in print quality, efficiency and versatility that will allow us to better serve our readers, advertisers and contract print partners well into the future.”
Print Innovators is also environmentally conscious. The building is mostly lit by skylights, using sunlight in the day, and moonlight and low-energy fluorescent lights at night. Print Innovators uses post-consumer recycled paper fiber. From all of the newspapers that don't pass quality control are recycled and then used as roofing material. Print Innovators immediately planted native grass after construction ceased, to bring back the natural environment. In this natural environment live frogs, deer, rabbits, and turtles. Print Innovators has a bike rack outside for employees, and so far, one employee uses it daily.
The press is run mostly by computers, but is maintained by many workers. The computers serve many purposes, including how much ink to use in each column, how many newspapers to put in a bundle, how to place papers in storage according to when they will need to be used, and where to get stored papers when they need to be accessed.
The press is capable of full-color on every page, everyday. In one hour, the press can produce up to 45,000 newspapers. Print Innovators can service customers of the Free Lance-Star in a 400 miles (643.7 km) radius, twice as fast as the previous press. Earlier production allows for earlier delivery times, and more services are available for production.
Print Innovators prints many local and out-of-area publications, not just a local paper. Some other newspapers that they print are the Washington Examiner, Alexandria Times, Southern Maryland Today, and many more.
(which for many years has been the biggest Soap Box race in the country), and The Great Train Race & Caboose Run, a youth mile run through downtown Fredericksburg. The Free Lance-Star is also the secondary sponsor for Celebrate Virginia Live, a series of concerts
with popular artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd
, Darius Rucker
, and Alan Jackson
.
was uncapable of running after the loss of Chevrolet
as the national sponsor. This made many towns and communities with no local race.
For many years, Fredericksburg, Virginia
had gone without a local derby. In 1996, Ralph "Tuffy" Hicks, a city councilman, brought up the idea of bringing the race back to Fredericksburg. The City Council agreed to this idea, because they thought that it would be a great activity for the community to get together. The running of the derby would be the responsibility of the Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation Department. Many local businesses purchased cars and donated what was needed to get the race going. The first race was in 1997, 25 years since it had stopped.
The first title sponsor of the race in 1997 was Purvis Ford, a local Ford
dealership. In the first year of the new race, there were 85 racers in two divisions, Stock and Super Stock. As of 1998, the race had increased by 40 racers, bringing the total drivers to 125.
In 2000, The Free Lance-Star became the title sponsor of the Fredericksburg Derby. By 2001, The Free Lance-Star Classic was the largest local race in the country. In 2004, the Masters Division was added to the race, so that there would be options for different age groups. This made there be three champions sent to Akron, Ohio
, where the Nationals were held.
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...
distributed throughout Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, with a circulation area including the city of Fredericksburg and all or parts of the counties of Spotsylvania
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 90,395 people, 31,308 households, and 24,639 families residing in the county. The population density was 226 people per square mile . There were 33,329 housing units at an average density of 83 per square mile...
, Stafford
Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state, and just across the Rappahannock River from the City of Fredericksburg. As of the 2000 census, the population was 92,446, increasing to 128,961 in 2010.. Its county seat is Stafford. In 2006, and again in 2009,...
, King George
King George County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 23,584 people, 9,411 households, and 4,525 families residing in the county. The population density was 93 people per square mile . There were 6,820 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
, Caroline
Caroline County, Virginia
Caroline County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 28,545. Its county seat is Bowling Green. Caroline County is also home to The Meadow stables, the birthplace of the renowned racehorse Secretariat, winner of the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and...
, Culpeper
Culpeper County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,262 people, 12,141 households, and 9,045 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile . There were 12,871 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
, Fauquier
Fauquier County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 55,139 people, 19,842 households, and 15,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 21,046 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
, Louisa
Louisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 33,153. The county seat is Louisa.- History :...
, Orange
Orange County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,881 people, 10,150 households, and 7,470 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile . There were 11,354 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
, Prince William
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...
and Westmoreland
Westmoreland County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,718 people, 6,846 households, and 4,689 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,286 housing units at an average density of...
.
The Free Lance was first published on January 27, 1885, when a group of local merchants created the paper to serve the news and advertising needs of the community. A one-year subscription that very first year cost $1.50. In 1900, the Free Lance merged with its competing The Fredericksburg Daily Star. The two papers continued to be published separately until 1926 when, under the leadership of Josiah P. Rowe Jr., they were combined into The Free Lance–Star, a single newspaper published 6 days a week.
The paper has occupied two addresses in its history. It was founded in 1885 as a twice-weekly publication by Col. John W. Woltz and William E. Bradley from their offices at 303 William St in Fredericksburg. In 1965 the newspaper, owned and operated by members of the same family since 1926 moved to its current location at 616 Amelia Street. Charles and Josiah Rowe inherited the paper from their father in 1949, and in 1997, upon Charles’ retirement, the family of Josiah P. Rowe III purchased total ownership of the business.
Josiah Rowe announced his retirement in October 2010, and Nicholas J. Cadwallender was named publisher. Rowe will serve as publisher emeritus.
Star Radio Group
WFLS (AM)WFLS-FM
WFLS-FM is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Fredericksburg, Virginia, serving Central and Northern Virginia. WFLS-FM is owned and operated by The Free Lance-Star Publishing Company of Fredericksburg, VA.-External links:*...
, the company’s first radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
housed at the same location, went on the air in 1960. WFLS-FM
WFLS-FM
WFLS-FM is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Fredericksburg, Virginia, serving Central and Northern Virginia. WFLS-FM is owned and operated by The Free Lance-Star Publishing Company of Fredericksburg, VA.-External links:*...
was added to the company in 1961. Later on, in 1994, The Star Radio Group bought 99.3 WYSK: The Rock Alternative The company purchased WWUZ
WWUZ
WWUZ is a Classic rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bowling Green, Virginia, serving Metro Fredericksburg. WWUZ is owned and operated by The Free Lance-Star Publishing Company of Fredericksburg, VA.-History:...
, a classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
-formatted station out of Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Virginia
Bowling Green is an incorporated town in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. The population was 936 at the 2000 census.The county seat of Caroline County since 1803, Bowling Green is best known as the "cradle of American horse racing", the home of the second oldest Masonic Lodge, and the...
, in 2001. In 2009, WYSK became 99.3 The Vibe (WVBX), advertised as "Fredericksburg's #1 Hit Music Station. In September 2010, the company added a sports talk station, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
The Game, at AM 1350 and FM 96.5.
In the mid-1990s the company maintained a web presence under FLStarWeb.com. Those efforts have since shifted to fredericksburg.com. In 1984, The Free Lance–Star was named by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine as one of two top small daily newspapers in the country.
Press
In March 2010, The Free Lance-Star began printing in their new production facility, Print Innovators. Print Innovators is a 92000 square feet (8,547.1 m²) facility, and a $45 million investment. Print Innovators is the only press in America that uses the GossGoss
Goss may refer to:*Goss crested china*Goss International, printing press manufacturers*Goss Moor, Cornwall*the traditional material used for the body of a top hat.*a colloquial term for gossip, used in many colleges.*Government of Southern Sudan...
International Flexible Printing System. In mid-2008, the installation began for the new printing systems. Goss also provided the Ferag press gripper and storage components, plus the Magnapack packaging system with 34 packaging stations.
The 29 feet (8.8 m) high press, includes four printing towers, and two folders that are capable of being run as two separate processes. Each unit can produce 24 pages, making a total capacity of 94 full-color pages. John Jenkins, operations director at the Free Lance-Star and Print Innovators says, “The fundamental technologies are well proven, but the FPS platform presents breakthroughs in print quality, efficiency and versatility that will allow us to better serve our readers, advertisers and contract print partners well into the future.”
Print Innovators is also environmentally conscious. The building is mostly lit by skylights, using sunlight in the day, and moonlight and low-energy fluorescent lights at night. Print Innovators uses post-consumer recycled paper fiber. From all of the newspapers that don't pass quality control are recycled and then used as roofing material. Print Innovators immediately planted native grass after construction ceased, to bring back the natural environment. In this natural environment live frogs, deer, rabbits, and turtles. Print Innovators has a bike rack outside for employees, and so far, one employee uses it daily.
The press is run mostly by computers, but is maintained by many workers. The computers serve many purposes, including how much ink to use in each column, how many newspapers to put in a bundle, how to place papers in storage according to when they will need to be used, and where to get stored papers when they need to be accessed.
The press is capable of full-color on every page, everyday. In one hour, the press can produce up to 45,000 newspapers. Print Innovators can service customers of the Free Lance-Star in a 400 miles (643.7 km) radius, twice as fast as the previous press. Earlier production allows for earlier delivery times, and more services are available for production.
Print Innovators prints many local and out-of-area publications, not just a local paper. Some other newspapers that they print are the Washington Examiner, Alexandria Times, Southern Maryland Today, and many more.
Sponsoring
The Free Lance-Star is the title and secondary sponsor of several events in Fredericksburg, like the Free Lance-Star Classic All-American Soap Box DerbySoap Box Derby
The Soap Box Derby is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run in the United States since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio...
(which for many years has been the biggest Soap Box race in the country), and The Great Train Race & Caboose Run, a youth mile run through downtown Fredericksburg. The Free Lance-Star is also the secondary sponsor for Celebrate Virginia Live, a series of concerts
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
with popular artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
, Darius Rucker
Darius Rucker
Darius Rucker is an American musician. He first gained fame as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld and Dean Felber...
, and Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...
.
The Free Lance-Star Classic
The race was run on William Street in downtown from 1951 to 1972. The AASBDSoap Box Derby
The Soap Box Derby is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run in the United States since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio...
was uncapable of running after the loss of Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
as the national sponsor. This made many towns and communities with no local race.
For many years, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
had gone without a local derby. In 1996, Ralph "Tuffy" Hicks, a city councilman, brought up the idea of bringing the race back to Fredericksburg. The City Council agreed to this idea, because they thought that it would be a great activity for the community to get together. The running of the derby would be the responsibility of the Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation Department. Many local businesses purchased cars and donated what was needed to get the race going. The first race was in 1997, 25 years since it had stopped.
The first title sponsor of the race in 1997 was Purvis Ford, a local Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
dealership. In the first year of the new race, there were 85 racers in two divisions, Stock and Super Stock. As of 1998, the race had increased by 40 racers, bringing the total drivers to 125.
In 2000, The Free Lance-Star became the title sponsor of the Fredericksburg Derby. By 2001, The Free Lance-Star Classic was the largest local race in the country. In 2004, the Masters Division was added to the race, so that there would be options for different age groups. This made there be three champions sent to Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, where the Nationals were held.
External links
- Official site
- History of the Free Lance–Star
- Fredericksburg Research Resources, including links to historical newspaper indexes of the Free Lance, the Star, and other Fredericksburg newspapers
- Print Innovators Official Website
- Fredericksburg Soap Box Derby Official Website
- 99.3 The Vibe
- 93.3 WFLS
- Classic Rock 96.9