The ''Sun Journal'' is a

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 p ...

published in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous ci ...

, United States, which covers central and western

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. In addition to its main office in Lewiston, the paper maintains satellite news and sales bureaus in the Maine towns of

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and Rumford. Its daily circulation is approximately 18,600, making it one of the most-read dailies in the state. Though its history dates back to 1847, the ''Sun Journal'' has existed in its current iteration since 1989, when Lewiston's two largest newspapers, the morning ''

Lewiston Daily Sun ''The Lewiston Daily Sun'' was a newspaper published in Lewiston, Maine. Established in 1893, it became the dominant morning daily in the Lewiston- Auburn city and town area. In 1926, its publisher acquired the ''Lewiston Evening Journal'' and pu ...

'' and afternoon ''

Lewiston Evening Journal The ''Sun Journal'' is a newspaper published in Lewiston, Maine, United States, which covers central and western Maine. In addition to its main office in Lewiston, the paper maintains satellite news and sales bureaus in the Maine towns of Farming ...

'' were combined into one publication. Long owned and published by the Costello family, the newspaper was purchased by Reade Brower, owner of

MaineToday Media MaineToday Media is a privately owned publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Maine, based in the state's largest city, Portland. It includes the ''Portland Press Herald'' and ''Maine Sunday Telegram'', the state's larges ...

, in 2017.

History

The lineage of the ''Sun Journal'' can be traced back to May 20, 1847, when printer William Waldron and future

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

, Dr.

Alonzo Garcelon Alonzo Garcelon (May 6, 1813 – December 8, 1906) was the 36th governor of Maine, and a surgeon general of Maine during the American Civil War. Early life and education Garcelon was born in Lewiston (in modern-day Maine, then a part o ...

founded Lewiston's first paper, a weekly called the ''Lewiston Falls Journal''. In 1857, former employee

Nelson Dingley Jr. Nelson Dingley Jr. (February 15, 1832 – January 13, 1899) was a journalist and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. Dingley was born in Durham, Maine and attended the common schools at Unity, Maine and Waterville College (now Colby Co ...

became owner and publisher, and the paper entered into full-time daily publication in April 1861. It rebranded in 1866 as the ''Lewiston Evening Journal''. In 1893, ''

The Lewiston Daily Sun ''The Lewiston Daily Sun'' was a newspaper published in Lewiston, Maine. Established in 1893, it became the dominant morning daily in the Lewiston- Auburn city and town area. In 1926, its publisher acquired the ''Lewiston Evening Journal'' and pu ...

'' emerged as a competitor and would, under the stewardship of George W. Wood, became the leading morning daily in the region. The two papers maintained a fierce rivalry until Wood purchased the ''Journal'' from the Dingley family on February 1, 1926, moving production from the

Dingley Building The Dingley Building, formerly the Oak Street School, is a historic municipal building at 36 Oak Street in Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1890, it is a distinctive local example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, designed by local architect Geor ...

to ''The Suns facility at 104 Park Street in Lewiston. By 1945, when Wood died, the ''Sun'' and ''Journal'' were the fourth and fifth most-read dailies in the state with circulations of 27,480 and 14,088, respectively. Wood's heir was Louis B. Costello, who began as ''The Suns business manager in 1898 and was promoted to general manager and treasurer of the papers' publishing company in 1926. He, in turn, left the papers to his son Russell, who, in 1989, combined the two papers form the ''Sun Journal''. In 2017, the Sun Media Group was sold by the Costello family to Reade Brower, owner of

. The Sun Journal began publishing its Monday paper online-only March 2, 2020, along with three other Maine Dailies owned by MaineToday Media. On May 21, 2022, the Sun Journal celebrated 175 years of publication.

Prices

The ''Sun Journal'' prices are: $2 daily, $3 Sunday.

Sister weeklies

On October 1, 2007, the ''Sun Journal'' purchased Kirkland Newspapers of Farmington, the publisher of four

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 n ...

s:"Lewiston, Maine, Newspaper Firm Buys 4 Other Maine Papers". ''NEPA Bulletin'' (Boston, Mass.), page 3, October 2007. * ''The Franklin Journal'' of Farmington (4,500 twice-weekly circulation) * ''The Rangeley Highlander'' of Rangeley (2,300 biweekly) * ''The Penobscot Times'' of Old Town (3,300 weekly) * ''Livermore Falls Advertiser'' of Livermore Falls (2,300 weekly) The ''Sun Journal'' also owns ''

The Forecaster ''The Forecaster'' is a regional newspaper in southern Maine. It is published weekly and distributed for free. It publishes several different versions, including "The Forecaster" covering the city of Portland; "Northern Forecaster", which cove ...

'', a free regional paper. ''

The Advertiser Democrat The ''Advertiser Democrat'' is a weekly newspaper serving 18 towns in the Greater Oxford Hills region of western Maine in the United States. It is published weekly on Thursday from its editorial/advertising offices in Norway, Maine. The newspap ...

,'' ''Bethel Citizen,'' and ''Rumford Falls Times'' (weeklies) are published by the ''Sun Journal'' as well.

References

External links

''Sun Journal'' Website
* {{Authority control Newspapers published in Maine Mass media in Androscoggin County, Maine Mass media in Lewiston, Maine Publications established in 1847 1847 establishments in Maine