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''The St. Louis American'' is a
weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly ne ...
serving the
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
community of St. Louis, Missouri. The first issue appeared in March 1928. In 1930, the newspaper started a "Buy Where You Can Work" campaign. Donald Suggs along with two other investors purchased majority shares in the newspaper in 1981, and in 1984 Suggs became the majority
stockholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...
and
publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
.


History

St. Louis' only
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
newspaper continuously published since 1928, and the longest continuously published weekly newspaper in the St. Louis area, ''The St. Louis American'' newspaper has emerged as the single largest weekly newspaper in the entire state of Missouri. ''The St. Louis American'' was founded by Judge Nathan B. Young Jr and several African American businessmen, including Homer G. Phillips. At the time, the ''American'' was an eight-page "paid" tabloid, with a circulation of just over 2,000. In came Nathaniel Sweets less than a year later. Sweets helped keep the ''American'' alive for more than 45 years as an owner-publisher. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the ''American'' continued to gain respect and readership, through its venerable editor Bennie G. Rodgers, who worked for the paper for more than 50 years, and is still known as the "dean of black journalism in St. Louis". Current publisher Donald M. Suggs took the
rein Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband. Use f ...
s of ''The St. Louis American'' in the early 1980s. When Suggs took over the newspaper, it had a circulation of approximately 4,400. His first major change: the paper had to move from being a limited-circulation paid newspaper to a widely circulated free weekly newspaper to effectively and efficiently reach the rapidly growing (and more broadly dispersing) African American population in the St. Louis area.


Awards

''The St. Louis American'' has garnered more than 100 local, regional, and national awards for excellence in journalism, design, and commitment to the community, including being named '''Newspaper of the Year' by the Local Media Association'' in 2015. The ''American'' has been named the '''#1 African-American Newspaper in the Nation''' 12 times in recent years by the
National Newspaper Publishers Association The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), formerly the National Negro Publishers Association, is an association of African American newspaper publishers from across the United States. History The NNPA was founded in 1940 when John H ...
, including five straight years from 2012 to 2016; is a five-time recipient of Missouri Press Association's first place award for General Excellence; and, received the Missouri Gold Cup Award six times in the last decade. The newspaper's publisher, Donald M. Suggs was named '''Publisher of the Year''' by the NNPA in 2016.


See also

*'' St. Louis Argus'' *''
St. Louis Beacon The ''St. Louis Beacon'' was an online-only news site in the greater St. Louis area. Several of the site's founders include former reporters and editors from the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''. Funded largely by outside donations, the ''Beacon'' had ...
'' *'' St. Louis Sentinel'' *
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 ...
N. A. Sweets joined the ''St. Louis American'' staff as their first advertising manager in 1928. In 1933 Sweets bought out the remaining shareholders and became editor and publisher of the St. Louis American, which he remained until his retirement in 1981. His wife, Melba A Sweets, wrote a weekly column, "We're Tellin'", for more than thirty years.


External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis American Newspapers published in St. Louis Newspapers established in 1928 African-American history in St. Louis African-American newspapers 1928 establishments in Missouri