The Sun Chronicle
Encyclopedia
The Sun Chronicle is a daily newspaper
in Attleboro, Massachusetts
, USA. Most of its readers are in Attleboro and North Attleborough, Massachusetts
, but it also covers nearby Foxborough
, Mansfield
, Norfolk
, Norton
, Plainville
, Rehoboth
, Seekonk
, and Wrentham, Massachusetts
.
The Sun Chronicle office also publishes the weekly
Foxboro Reporter, weekly shopper Entertainment ADvisor, and the Silver City Bulletin in Taunton, Massachusetts
.
In February 2005, The Sun Chronicle began publishing in the morning after decades as an afternoon newspaper.
The North Attleborough Evening Chronicle began February 3, 1871 as The Attleborough Chronicle, a 4-page weekly founded by Walter Phillips, a Providence newspaperman whose wife was Attleboro native Francena Capron. Phillips moved the newspaper's headquarters to North Attleboro in January 1873. Its name was changed to the North Attleborough Evening Chronicle in 1887, when the town of North Attleborough split from Attleboro.
The Attleboro Sun published its first issue September 3, 1889. For decades the two papers were friendly rivals.
The Chronicle was a small newspaper with big connections; for most of its history, its publisher was the prominent Republican Congressman Joseph W. Martin, Jr., who served in the House from 1925 to 1967 and was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
from 1947 to 1949 and again from 1953 to 1955. Martin ran the Chronicle for six decades, and gave North Attleboro a reputation for conservatism.
The Attleboro Sun, for its part, was sold by a group of local businessmen in 1906 to John S. Vallette, an advertising salesman for The Providence Journal
. He appointed a 19-year-old reporter, Charles C. Cain, Jr., as the paper's editor.
Vallette expanded the newspaper's reach, and pushed for Attleboro to adopt a city form of government, which it did in 1914. Then in 1929, Cain became the newspaper's publisher, and in 1933 he appointed Clarence D. Roberts as editor. Roberts remained with the paper for about half a century, in later years contributing columns from Florida
.
. Meanwhile, Joe Martin died in 1968, and two years later his brother sold the Chronicle to United Communications Corp., too.
The Sun and the Chronicle operated separately under the same ownership for one year until they merged in March 1971 and became The Sun Chronicle. At the time, their combined circulation was 16,000.
DeVany and General Manager Paul A. Rixon modernized the new Sun Chronicle, expanded its facilities, and boosted its circulation. For example, The Sun Chronicle says it was the first newspaper to convert from hot-type production
to offset printing
.
DeVany retired in 1983, and Rixon, who had been with the paper since 1960, took over as publisher. He continued the Sun Chronicles modernization, and also acquired The Foxboro Reporter in 1986. Rixon launched a Sunday edition of The Sun Chronicle in 1989.
Rixon retired in 1998, and was replaced as publisher by General Manager Oreste P. D'Arconte, who had joined The Attleboro Sun as a reporter in 1969. D'Arconte launched The Sun Chronicles web site in January 1999.
As of June 2007 The Sun Chronicles circulation was growing - though that trend reversed in the following years - while its website averaged 11,000 visitors a day in the first half of 2007. A redesigned web site was quietly launched in April 2008.
United Communications Corporation
, which owns The Sun Chronicle, also owns two other dailies, the Kenosha News
of Wisconsin
and Watertown Public Opinion
of South Dakota
.
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...
in Attleboro, Massachusetts
Attleboro, Massachusetts
Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States and is immediately north of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers, Attleboro had a population of 42,068 at the 2000 census, and a population of 43,645 as of...
, USA. Most of its readers are in Attleboro and North Attleborough, Massachusetts
North Attleborough, Massachusetts
North Attleborough, commonly written North Attleboro, is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,712 at the 2010 United States Census.The village of North Attleborough Center is located in the town.-History:...
, but it also covers nearby Foxborough
Foxborough, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,246 people, 6,141 households, and 4,396 families residing in the town. The population density was 809.1 people per square mile . There were 6,299 housing units at an average density of 313.7 per square mile...
, Mansfield
Mansfield, Massachusetts
Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population is 23,184. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island....
, Norfolk
Norfolk, Massachusetts
Norfolk is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States with a population of 10,460 people in 2,818 households at the 2000 census. Formerly known as North Wrentham, Norfolk broke away to become an independent town in 1870.-History:...
, Norton
Norton, Massachusetts
Norton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, and contains the village of Norton Center. The population was 18,036 at the 2000 census...
, Plainville
Plainville, Massachusetts
Plainville is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 8,264. Plainville is part of the Providence metropolitan area.- History :Plainville was originally a part of the town of Wrentham, Massachusetts...
, Rehoboth
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Rehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.-History:It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family is among the founding families...
, Seekonk
Seekonk, Massachusetts
Seekonk is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Massachusetts border. It was incorporated in 1812 from the western half of Rehoboth. The population was 13,722 at the 2010 census. Until 1862, the town of Seekonk also included what is now the City of East Providence, Rhode...
, and Wrentham, Massachusetts
Wrentham, Massachusetts
Wrentham is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,955 at the 2010 census.- History :Wrentham was first settled by the English in 1660 and officially incorporated in 1673. It was burned down during King Philip's War 1675-1676. For a short time, it was the...
.
The Sun Chronicle office also publishes the weekly
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...
Foxboro Reporter, weekly shopper Entertainment ADvisor, and the Silver City Bulletin in Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...
.
In February 2005, The Sun Chronicle began publishing in the morning after decades as an afternoon newspaper.
Beginnings
The Sun Chronicle was founded in 1971 by Guy S. DeVany, who merged The Attleboro Sun (1889–1971), of which he was publisher, with The Evening Chronicle of North Attleborough (1871–1971). An advertisement on the back cover of the 12-page final edition of The Attleboro Sun declared: "The new Sun Chronicle will be an adventure in print . . . stimulating . . . provocative . . . at times disturbing . . . always interesting." The 20-page first issue of The Sun Chronicle was published on March 1, 1971.The North Attleborough Evening Chronicle began February 3, 1871 as The Attleborough Chronicle, a 4-page weekly founded by Walter Phillips, a Providence newspaperman whose wife was Attleboro native Francena Capron. Phillips moved the newspaper's headquarters to North Attleboro in January 1873. Its name was changed to the North Attleborough Evening Chronicle in 1887, when the town of North Attleborough split from Attleboro.
The Attleboro Sun published its first issue September 3, 1889. For decades the two papers were friendly rivals.
The Chronicle was a small newspaper with big connections; for most of its history, its publisher was the prominent Republican Congressman Joseph W. Martin, Jr., who served in the House from 1925 to 1967 and was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
from 1947 to 1949 and again from 1953 to 1955. Martin ran the Chronicle for six decades, and gave North Attleboro a reputation for conservatism.
The Attleboro Sun, for its part, was sold by a group of local businessmen in 1906 to John S. Vallette, an advertising salesman for The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal, nicknamed the ProJo, is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper, first published in 1829 and the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States, was purchased...
. He appointed a 19-year-old reporter, Charles C. Cain, Jr., as the paper's editor.
Vallette expanded the newspaper's reach, and pushed for Attleboro to adopt a city form of government, which it did in 1914. Then in 1929, Cain became the newspaper's publisher, and in 1933 he appointed Clarence D. Roberts as editor. Roberts remained with the paper for about half a century, in later years contributing columns from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Merger
In 1957, Charles Cain sold the Sun to a group of local businessmen. DeVany, who published newspapers in the Midwest, replaced Cain. His tenure was marked by the Suns modernization. In 1969, it was he who engineered the sale of the paper to Howard J. Brown and United Communications CorporationUnited Communications Corporation
United Communications Corporation is a privately owned publisher and operator of three daily newspapers, several weekly newspapers and three television stations in the U.S. states of Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin...
. Meanwhile, Joe Martin died in 1968, and two years later his brother sold the Chronicle to United Communications Corp., too.
The Sun and the Chronicle operated separately under the same ownership for one year until they merged in March 1971 and became The Sun Chronicle. At the time, their combined circulation was 16,000.
DeVany and General Manager Paul A. Rixon modernized the new Sun Chronicle, expanded its facilities, and boosted its circulation. For example, The Sun Chronicle says it was the first newspaper to convert from hot-type production
Hot metal typesetting
In printing and typography, hot metal typesetting refers to 19th-century technologies for typesetting text in letterpress printing. This method injects molten type metal into a mold that has the shape of one or more glyphs...
to offset printing
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
.
DeVany retired in 1983, and Rixon, who had been with the paper since 1960, took over as publisher. He continued the Sun Chronicles modernization, and also acquired The Foxboro Reporter in 1986. Rixon launched a Sunday edition of The Sun Chronicle in 1989.
Rixon retired in 1998, and was replaced as publisher by General Manager Oreste P. D'Arconte, who had joined The Attleboro Sun as a reporter in 1969. D'Arconte launched The Sun Chronicles web site in January 1999.
As of June 2007 The Sun Chronicles circulation was growing - though that trend reversed in the following years - while its website averaged 11,000 visitors a day in the first half of 2007. A redesigned web site was quietly launched in April 2008.
United Communications Corporation
United Communications Corporation
United Communications Corporation is a privately owned publisher and operator of three daily newspapers, several weekly newspapers and three television stations in the U.S. states of Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin...
, which owns The Sun Chronicle, also owns two other dailies, the Kenosha News
Kenosha News
The Kenosha News is a morning daily newspaper published in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA, serving southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois...
of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and Watertown Public Opinion
Watertown Public Opinion
The Watertown Public Opinion is a six-day daily newspaper published in Watertown, South Dakota, USA, serving eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota...
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.