''The Telegraph'' is an American

daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

published seven days a week in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is a p ...

, serving the St. Louis Metro-East region. It was owned by Civitas Media, based in

Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town located in northern Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, North Carolina, United States, on the banks of Lake Norman. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,944 at the 2010 census, an ...

, a subsidiary of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

-based Versa Capital Management, which owned about 100 daily and weekly newspapers across 12 states but sold The Telegraph to Hearst Corp. in 2017. It was founded in 1836, as the ''Alton Telegraph'' by Lawson A. Parks. It is published seven days a week. Until the 1970s, the ''Telegraph'' was known as the ''Alton Daily Telegraph'' and then the ''Alton Evening Telegraph''. In 1969 the ''Alton Telegraph'' was sued for defamation by a local builder, James C. Green. A jury awarded $9 million. The newspaper could not appeal unless it posted a $10 million bond, and instead declared bankruptcy, eventually settling for slightly more than its insurance limits. The Cousley family controlled the paper from 1889 to 1985, when they sold the paper to

Ingersoll Publications 21st Century Media was an American media company. It was the successor of Ingersoll Publications and Journal Register Company, and it was succeeded by Digital First Media. The company operated more than 350 multi-platform products in 992 com ...

, who had acquired the ''

Suburban Journals Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis was a group of publications in the St. Louis region owned by Lee Enterprises. The chain served the St. Louis and St. Charles counties in Missouri and in the Madison, Monroe and St. Clair Counties in Illino ...

'' the previous year. When Ingersoll successor Journal Register exited the St. Louis market, ''The Telegraph'' was sold to Freedom Communications. Along with ''The Telegraph'', Civitas Media also owned the ''

Journal-Courier The Jacksonville Journal-Courier is an American daily newspaper published in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is owned by Hearst Newspapers since being sold in August 2017 by Civitas Media, a subsidiary of Versa Capital Management. With a history dat ...

'' in nearby

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,446 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the Illinois School for ...

, which was sold to Hearst at the same time as the ''Telegraph'', and the '' Sedalia Democrat'' in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. These three newspapers, along with '' The Lima News'' in Ohio, constituted the Central Division of Freedom Communications before being sold to Ohio Community Media in May 2012 before becoming part of Civitas Media. News publishing corporation Hearst Media Company acquired The Telegraph in August 2017. In December 2017, The Telegraph moved its offices from 111 East Broadway, after 90 years at that location, to 219 Piasa St. in Alton. “Our current building was great as a manufacturing facility, but as the newspaper business has evolved and technology has improved, staffing is now office-based and we need a more modern space to operate the business,” former Telegraph Publisher Jim Shrader said.Telegraph to relocate offices to Piasa Street location Monday
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Telegraph Alton Publications established in 1836 Alton, Illinois 1836 establishments in Illinois Newspapers published in Illinois