The ''Observer-Dispatch'' (''The O-D'') is the largest

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 ...

serving the Utica-Rome metropolitan area in

Central New York Central New York is the central region of New York State, including the following counties and cities: With a population of about 773,606 (2009) and an area of , the region includes the Syracuse metropolitan area. Definitions The New York ...

, circulating in Oneida County,

Herkimer County Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named af ...

, and parts of Madison County. Based in

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...

, the publication is owned by Gannett.

History

Eliasaph Dorchester founded the weekly ''Utica Observer'' in 1817. The paper briefly moved to

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which li ...

and published under the name of the ''Oneida Observer'', but returned to Utica after. The paper consolidated with the ''Utica Democrat'' in 1852, bringing with it long-time editor Dewitt C. Grove, who simultaneously served as mayor of Utica from 1860 to 1862. The ''Observers facilities were destroyed in 1884 by a fire. Construction began in 1914 on a new office for the Observer, which was completed in 1915. The two-story building was expanded to three stories in 1930, with the name "Utica Observer-Dispatch" engraved in the stone above the third story windows. In 1922 the paper was purchased by Frank E. Gannett, founder of the Gannett Company. Gannett purchased the ''Herald-Dispatch'' at the same time and combined the two, creating the ''Utica Observer-Dispatch''. Gannet also purchased the ''Utica Daily Press'' in 1935. The ''Utica Daily Press'' and the ''Utica Observer-Dispatch'' merged in 1987, and were renamed to the current ''Observer-Dispatch''. Gannett owned the newspaper until 2007, when it was purchased by GateHouse Media. GateHouse Media's parent company merged with Gannett in 2019, returning the ''Observer-Dispatch'' to Gannett once more. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the O-D had a weekly Bosnian language column serving the

Bosnian American Bosnian Americans are Americans whose ancestry can be traced to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The vast majority of Bosnian Americans immigrated to the United States during and after the Bosnian War which lasted from 1992–95. Nevertheless, many Bosnia ...

population in Utica. The company added digital delivery of news and information in January 2000 with the launch of uticaOD.com. It began online video publication in 2006. In 2004, the ''Observer-Dispatch'' purchased the ''Mid York Weekly'' newspaper, serving

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton, the s ...

, and seven weekly

Pennysaver A pennysaver (or free ads paper, Friday Ad or shopper) is a free community periodical available in North America (typically weekly or monthly publications) that advertises items for sale. Frequently pennysavers are actually called ''The Pennysave ...

publications, which are mailed throughout Oneida and Herkimer counties. The ''Observer-Dispatch'' shares an editor with ''

The Times Telegram ''The Times Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper published in Herkimer, New York. It serves southern Herkimer County and the westernmost part of adjacent Montgomery County in the Mohawk Valley region of New York State. It was formed on Aug ...

'', a sister Gannett paper in nearby

. In March 2022, the Observer-Dispatch building was purchased by a real estate investment group.

Awards

The ''Utica Daily Press'' and the ''Utica Observer-Dispatch'' were jointly awarded the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service:

References

External links

Observer-Dispatch , uticaOD.com
{{authority control Daily newspapers published in New York (state) Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers Utica, New York Rome, New York Publications established in 1817 1817 establishments in New York (state) Pulitzer Prize for Public Service winners Gannett publications