''The Bennington Banner'' is a 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, sport ...
published in
Bennington, Vermont
Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous t ...
. The paper covers local, national, and world news. It is distributed throughout Southwestern Vermont and eastern New York (Rensselaer and Washington Counties). The paper is owned by ''Vermont News and Media LLC'' and is published Monday through Friday, plus a weekend edition.
History
Vermont newspaperman and Republican politician,
Frank E. Howe
Frank Edmund Howe (October 2, 1870 – July 20, 1956) was a Vermont newspaperman and politician who served as the 49th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1912 to 1915.
Biography
Frank Edmund Howe, nicknamed "Ginger" was born in Heath, Ma ...
, bought two
Bennington, Vermont
Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous t ...
, weeklies in 1902 and merged them to form the daily ''Bennington Banner'', of which he was publisher and editor.
Around 1960–1961, the ''Bennington Banner'' was purchased by Lawrence Miller and his brother Donald, the sons of
Kelton B. Miller
Kelton Bedell Miller (September 8, 1860 – December 2, 1941) was an American journalist and politician who served as Mayor of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Miller was the owner and publisher of '' The Berkshire Eagle'' for 47 years. The Miller Bu ...
, a politician and newspaperman in nearby
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all ...
. Kelton's grandson, also named Kelton Miller, served as publisher of the ''Banner'' from 1977 until 1995, at which point it was purchased by ''MediaNews Group.''
Under ''MediaNews Group'' ownership, Jim Therrien served as managing editor of the ''Banner'' from 2006 to 2012. ''MediaNews Group'' eventually combined with other entities and re-branded as ''Digital First Media''.
In 2016, the ''Banner'' and other newspapers in the ''New England Newspapers Inc.'' portfolio were purchased from ''Digital First Media'' by a group of
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded ...
-based investors''.
'' In May 2021 the New England Newspapers sold Bennington Banner, Brattleboro Reformer and Manchester Journal to Vermont News and Media LLC
''Freedom from Fear'' painting
A copy of the ''Bennington Banner'' is shown in
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
's painting
''Freedom from Fear'', one of the paintings in his ''
Four Freedoms'' series.
Controversy
In early 2007 the ''Bennington Banner'' came under fire from ''
The O'Reilly Factor'' for allegedly not taking an editorial stance on a legal case involving child molestation, an accusation disputed by the newspaper's editor at the time, Jim Therrien.
References
External links
''The Bennington Banner'', Official SiteHistoric Newspaper Pages (1903-1922) on Chronicling America
{{VT daily papers
Newspapers published in Vermont
Bennington, Vermont
MediaNews Group publications
1841 establishments in Vermont
Newspapers established in 1841