''The Marion Star'' (formerly known as ''The Marion Daily Star'') is a newspaper in
Marion, Ohio
Marion is a city in Marion County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down slig ...
. The paper is owned by the
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation.
It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...
Newspaper organization. The paper is also notable as having once been owned and published by
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...
(prior to his election as President of the United States), and his wife Florence Kling Harding.
History
Founded as the ''Daily Pebble'', the format of the small daily grew and became ''The Marion Daily Star''. Harding acquired the struggling newspaper in 1884, for $300 with Johnny Sickel and Jack Warwick. Not long after the joint purchase, Harding became sole owner, with Sickel exiting out of frustration with the available equipment, and Warwick leaving for work on a bigger city paper. Harding began editing at the newspaper right after he acquired it and continued to until at least 1920. The dubious financial position of ''The Marion Daily Star'' improved following the marriage of Harding to Florence Kling DeWolfe, who promptly set about to straighten out the accounting, and increase circulation.
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
T ...
founder and
Socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
candidate for President
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...
worked for the ''Daily Star'' while growing up in Marion.
Under Harding the newspaper's editorial position leaned toward the Republican Party platform, but remained somewhat neutral because of its position of the daily newspaper and record for Marion County. However, Harding also launched ''The Marion Weekly Star'', a once-a-week summary newspaper designed for mail delivery and rural circulation, which showed less restraint in its Republican stance. The Weekly Star was published from the 1890s into the 1910s when it was discontinued.
The Hardings retained ownership in the paper until mid-1923 when they sold the business to
Brush-Moore Newspapers
Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc. was a United States newspaper group based in Ohio which had its origins in 1923 and was sold to Thomson Newspapers in 1967 for $72 million, the largest ever newspaper transaction at that time.Thompson Newspaper chain based in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, who acquired Brush-Moore Newspapers in 1967. Under their ownership, the name was briefly changed to ''The Star'' in an attempt to broaden the marketability of the paper beyond the Marion County region. Now, again known as ''The Marion Star'', the paper is owned and operated by
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation.
It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...
, who purchased the paper from Thomson in 2000. Under Gannett, editorial, business offices, and retail advertising are maintained in Marion, while printing and classified advertising operations have been moved to a regional press house in
Mansfield, Ohio
Mansfield is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 47,534 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately from Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Columbus via Interstate 71, it i ...
.
The Marion Ohio Public Library and The Ohio Historical Society maintain microfilm libraries of newspaper for public research; the paper is also accessible for a monthly subscription fee through
Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...
and NewspaperArchives.com.
Starting April 2024, the newspaper will switch from carrier to postal delivery.
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...
*
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...