The Tennessean
Encyclopedia
The Tennessean is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee
, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee
and eight counties in southern Kentucky
.
The Tennessean was nominated in 2011 for a Pulitizer Prize in breaking news for its coverage of "the most devastating flood in Middle Tennesee history."
As of November 2, 2005, the paper reported daily circulation
of 177,714; Saturday circulation of 199,489 and Sunday circulation of 250,575. These values were lower than Audit Bureau of Circulations figures for late 2004, which listed circulation as 199,366, 199,366 and 271,849, respectively.
It is owned by the Gannett Corporation, which also owns several smaller community newspapers in Middle Tennessee, including the Dickson Herald, the Gallatin News-Examiner, the Hendersonville Star-News, the Fairview Observer, and the Ashland City Times. Its circulation area overlaps those of the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle and The Daily News Journal
in Murfreesboro, two other independent Gannett papers.
The company publishes several specialty publications including the Nashville Record, Metromix Nashville (a weekly entertainment-oriented publication), and Nashville Lifestyles magazine. It publishes Davidson AM, Williamson AM, and Rutherford AM, local supplements covering these counties.
The paper's primary print competitors are the weekly The City Paper
, the weekly Nashville Scene
and the Nashville Business Journal. In 2004 Gannett announced the acquisition of the Franklin Review-Appeal, and The Daily News Journal
in Murfreesboro from Morris Multimedia
. The Review-Appeal became a supplement of The Tennessean, while the Daily News Journal continued to operate as an independent newspaper.
The paper maintains two Goss Colorliner presses. In 2002, the paper completed installation of a MAN Roland UNISET press, which is now used to print regional editions of USA Today
, as well as commercial printing jobs.
Ellen Leifeld was named as publisher in September 2005, succeeding Leslie Giallombardo, who became the newspaper's first female publisher in April 2002.
Frank Sutherland served as editor of the newspaper from 1989-2004. He began his journalism
career as a reporter at the paper in the 1960s, and returned as editor after a serving in several leadership positions at other newspapers. He announced his retirement in September 2004. He was briefly succeeded by Everett J. Mitchell II, the former managing editor of the Detroit News, who was the first African American
to be editor of The Tennessean. In September 2006, Mark Silverman was announced as editor.
The first issue of the Nashville Tennessean was printed on Sunday May 12, 1907. The paper was founded by Col. Luke Lea
, a 28-year-old attorney
and local political activist.
In 1910, the publishers purchased a controlling interest in the Nashville American. They began publishing an edition known as The Tennessean American. When the American formally folded in 1911, some of its employees banded together to found the Nashville Democrat. This paper was purchased by the Tennessean in 1913.
In 1931, Col. Luke Lea and his son Luke Lea, Jr. were indicted for their role in the failure of the Central Bank and Trust Co. of Asheville, North Carolina
. On March 3, 1933, the newspaper was placed under federal receivership, and Ashland City
attorney and former Tennessean editorial writer Littleton J. Pardue was appointed to direct the paper. Under his leadership circulation grew swiftly, but the newspaper continued to lose money.
In 1935, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
acquired a large portion of the paper's outstanding bonds. It eventually sold them to Paul Davis, president of the First American National Bank
of Nashville.
Still suffering from effects of the Great Depression
, the paper was sold at auction in 1937, when it was purchased for $850,000 by Silliman Evans, Sr. a former reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
. Evans came to an agreement with Nashville Banner
publisher James Stahlman to move both newspapers into new offices at 1100 Broadway. He created the Newspaper Printing Corporation as a business agent for both papers. As part of this agreement, the Tennessean ceased publication of its evening editions, and the Banner ceased publication of its Sunday edition. The two newspapers maintained a joint operating agreement from 1937 until the Banner ceased publication February 20, 1998. The two papers operated out of the same building and shared advertising and production staff, but maintained separate (and distinct) ownership and editorial voices.
On June 2, 1955, Silliman Evans Jr. was named president of the paper. After his father died unexpectedly of a heart attack on June 26, the board of the paper elected him publisher, and he became president of the Newspaper Printing Corporation in August.
In 1957, Tennessean cartoonist
Tom Little
won a Pulitzer Prize
for his cartoon encouraging parents to have their children immunize
d against polio.
In 1961, Silliman Evans Jr. died of a heart attack at age 36 while on his boat on Old Hickory Lake
. Ownership of the newspaper passed to his mother, and several months later his brother Amon Carter Evans was named Chief Executive of the paper.
Tennessean reporters Nat Caldwell and Gene Graham won a Pulitzer Prize
in 1962 "[f]or their exclusive disclosure and six years of detailed reporting, under great difficulties, of the undercover cooperation between management interests in the coal industry and the United Mine Workers
." In the same year, John Seigenthaler Sr. was named editor of the newspaper. He would earn the additional title of publisher in 1973.
In 1972, the Gannett Corporation purchased the Nashville Banner from the Stahlman family. In 1979, Gannett sold the Banner to a group of local investors including political figure John Jay Hooker
, businessman Brownlee Currey and Franklin
banker Irby Simpkins for about $25 million. It then purchased the Tennessean from the Evans family for about $50 million. John Seigenthaler became president, publisher, and editor of the Gannett-owned Tennessean. Historian E. Thomas Wood
says that "without question" Seigenthaler ran the newspaper as a liberal one.
In 1976, when it was revealed that Tennessean reporter Jacqueline Srouji had for many years been working as an informant (and possibly agent provocateur
) for the FBI
, including spying on her colleagues at the paper, Seigenthaler fired her immediately. Srouji claimed that when she had started as a reporter for the Nashville Banner
over a decade before, that paper's publisher had encouraged her to hand over information to the FBI.
In 1989, Frank Sutherland was named editor. He had begun his career as a reporter at the paper in 1963. Seigenthaler retired as publisher in 1991. He was replaced by Craig Moon, who held the post until he moved into a corporate position with Gannett in 2002; Moon was later named publisher of USA Today
. Leslie Giallombardo was publisher from 2002 to 2005. Seigenthaler remains "Chairman Emeritus."
In September 1998, the paper launched Tennessean.com, its news and information website
.
Among the notable journalists who have worked for The Tennessean are Vice President Al Gore
and his wife Tipper
, Pulitzer Prize
winning author David Halberstam
, and cartoonist Anthony Wright.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
and eight counties in southern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
The Tennessean was nominated in 2011 for a Pulitizer Prize in breaking news for its coverage of "the most devastating flood in Middle Tennesee history."
As of November 2, 2005, the paper reported daily circulation
Newspaper circulation
A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Circulation is one of the principal factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost to the...
of 177,714; Saturday circulation of 199,489 and Sunday circulation of 250,575. These values were lower than Audit Bureau of Circulations figures for late 2004, which listed circulation as 199,366, 199,366 and 271,849, respectively.
It is owned by the Gannett Corporation, which also owns several smaller community newspapers in Middle Tennessee, including the Dickson Herald, the Gallatin News-Examiner, the Hendersonville Star-News, the Fairview Observer, and the Ashland City Times. Its circulation area overlaps those of the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle and The Daily News Journal
The Daily News Journal
The Daily News Journal is a newspaper serving Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Rutherford County, and surrounding communities. Published in Murfreesboro, it serves as the primary local newspaper, with competition from The Murfreesboro Post and other publications...
in Murfreesboro, two other independent Gannett papers.
The company publishes several specialty publications including the Nashville Record, Metromix Nashville (a weekly entertainment-oriented publication), and Nashville Lifestyles magazine. It publishes Davidson AM, Williamson AM, and Rutherford AM, local supplements covering these counties.
The paper's primary print competitors are the weekly The City Paper
The City Paper
The City Paper is a free weekly newspaper serving Nashville, Tennessee. The City Paper began publication as a daily paper on November 1, 2000, providing competition to The Tennessean, which was the only daily in town after the Nashville Banner closed in 1998...
, the weekly Nashville Scene
Nashville Scene
Nashville Scene is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with New Times Media early in 2006. In 2009 the paper was...
and the Nashville Business Journal. In 2004 Gannett announced the acquisition of the Franklin Review-Appeal, and The Daily News Journal
The Daily News Journal
The Daily News Journal is a newspaper serving Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Rutherford County, and surrounding communities. Published in Murfreesboro, it serves as the primary local newspaper, with competition from The Murfreesboro Post and other publications...
in Murfreesboro from Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia, Inc. is a media company based in Savannah, Georgia, founded in 1970 by Charles H. Morris. Morris Multimedia, among the largest privately held media companies in the United States, is the parent company of Morris Newspaper Corporation and Morris Network.- Newspapers :The Morris...
. The Review-Appeal became a supplement of The Tennessean, while the Daily News Journal continued to operate as an independent newspaper.
The paper maintains two Goss Colorliner presses. In 2002, the paper completed installation of a MAN Roland UNISET press, which is now used to print regional editions of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, as well as commercial printing jobs.
Ellen Leifeld was named as publisher in September 2005, succeeding Leslie Giallombardo, who became the newspaper's first female publisher in April 2002.
Frank Sutherland served as editor of the newspaper from 1989-2004. He began his journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
career as a reporter at the paper in the 1960s, and returned as editor after a serving in several leadership positions at other newspapers. He announced his retirement in September 2004. He was briefly succeeded by Everett J. Mitchell II, the former managing editor of the Detroit News, who was the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
to be editor of The Tennessean. In September 2006, Mark Silverman was announced as editor.
History
The Tennessean, Nashville's primary daily newspaper, traces its roots back to the Nashville Whig, a weekly paper that began publication on September 1, 1812. The paper underwent various mergers and acquisitions throughout the 19th century, emerging as the Nashville American.The first issue of the Nashville Tennessean was printed on Sunday May 12, 1907. The paper was founded by Col. Luke Lea
Luke Lea (1879–1945)
Luke Lea was a Democratic United States Senator from Tennessee from 1911 to 1917.-Biography:Lea was the great-grandson of an earlier Luke Lea who was a two-term Congressman from Tennessee in the 1830s...
, a 28-year-old attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and local political activist.
In 1910, the publishers purchased a controlling interest in the Nashville American. They began publishing an edition known as The Tennessean American. When the American formally folded in 1911, some of its employees banded together to found the Nashville Democrat. This paper was purchased by the Tennessean in 1913.
In 1931, Col. Luke Lea and his son Luke Lea, Jr. were indicted for their role in the failure of the Central Bank and Trust Co. of Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. On March 3, 1933, the newspaper was placed under federal receivership, and Ashland City
Ashland City, Tennessee
Ashland City is a town in Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,641 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cheatham County.-History:Ashland City was created in 1856 as a county seat for the newly-established Cheatham County...
attorney and former Tennessean editorial writer Littleton J. Pardue was appointed to direct the paper. Under his leadership circulation grew swiftly, but the newspaper continued to lose money.
In 1935, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was an independent agency of the United States government, established and chartered by the US Congress in 1932, Act of January 22, 1932, c. 8, 47 Stat. 5, during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation...
acquired a large portion of the paper's outstanding bonds. It eventually sold them to Paul Davis, president of the First American National Bank
First American National Bank
First American National Bank was a subsidiary of First American National Corporation, a financial institution based in Nashville, Tennessee that served the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia...
of Nashville.
Still suffering from effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the paper was sold at auction in 1937, when it was purchased for $850,000 by Silliman Evans, Sr. a former reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...
. Evans came to an agreement with Nashville Banner
Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998...
publisher James Stahlman to move both newspapers into new offices at 1100 Broadway. He created the Newspaper Printing Corporation as a business agent for both papers. As part of this agreement, the Tennessean ceased publication of its evening editions, and the Banner ceased publication of its Sunday edition. The two newspapers maintained a joint operating agreement from 1937 until the Banner ceased publication February 20, 1998. The two papers operated out of the same building and shared advertising and production staff, but maintained separate (and distinct) ownership and editorial voices.
On June 2, 1955, Silliman Evans Jr. was named president of the paper. After his father died unexpectedly of a heart attack on June 26, the board of the paper elected him publisher, and he became president of the Newspaper Printing Corporation in August.
In 1957, Tennessean cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Tom Little
Tom Little (cartoonist)
Thomas Little was an American cartoonist. Working for the The Nashville Tennessean, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1957....
won a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for his cartoon encouraging parents to have their children immunize
Immunization
Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent ....
d against polio.
In 1961, Silliman Evans Jr. died of a heart attack at age 36 while on his boat on Old Hickory Lake
Old Hickory Lake
Old Hickory Lake is a reservoir in north central Tennessee. It is formed by the Old Hickory Lock and Dam , located on the Cumberland River at mile 216.2 in Sumner and Davidson Counties, approximately upstream from Nashville...
. Ownership of the newspaper passed to his mother, and several months later his brother Amon Carter Evans was named Chief Executive of the paper.
Tennessean reporters Nat Caldwell and Gene Graham won a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in 1962 "[f]or their exclusive disclosure and six years of detailed reporting, under great difficulties, of the undercover cooperation between management interests in the coal industry and the United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
." In the same year, John Seigenthaler Sr. was named editor of the newspaper. He would earn the additional title of publisher in 1973.
John Jay Hooker
John Jay Hooker, Jr. is a Nashville, Tennessee attorney, entrepreneur, perennial candidate and political gadfly.- Early life :John Jay Hooker was born to relative wealth and privilege in one of the Nashville area's more prominent families...
, businessman Brownlee Currey and Franklin
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
banker Irby Simpkins for about $25 million. It then purchased the Tennessean from the Evans family for about $50 million. John Seigenthaler became president, publisher, and editor of the Gannett-owned Tennessean. Historian E. Thomas Wood
E. Thomas Wood
E. Thomas Wood is an American journalist, historian and freelance writer. He currently works as a reporter for NashvillePost.com, a local business and political news website in Nashville, Tennessee....
says that "without question" Seigenthaler ran the newspaper as a liberal one.
In 1976, when it was revealed that Tennessean reporter Jacqueline Srouji had for many years been working as an informant (and possibly agent provocateur
Agent provocateur
Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act...
) for the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, including spying on her colleagues at the paper, Seigenthaler fired her immediately. Srouji claimed that when she had started as a reporter for the Nashville Banner
Nashville Banner
The Nashville Banner is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998...
over a decade before, that paper's publisher had encouraged her to hand over information to the FBI.
In 1989, Frank Sutherland was named editor. He had begun his career as a reporter at the paper in 1963. Seigenthaler retired as publisher in 1991. He was replaced by Craig Moon, who held the post until he moved into a corporate position with Gannett in 2002; Moon was later named publisher of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
. Leslie Giallombardo was publisher from 2002 to 2005. Seigenthaler remains "Chairman Emeritus."
In September 1998, the paper launched Tennessean.com, its news and information website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
.
Among the notable journalists who have worked for The Tennessean are Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
and his wife Tipper
Tipper Gore
Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore , née Aitcheson, is an author, photographer, former second lady of the United States, and the estranged wife of Al Gore...
, Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning author David Halberstam
David Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
, and cartoonist Anthony Wright.