The ''Cheney Free Press'' has been the dominant newspaper of Cheney in the U.S. state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

since its inception in 1896. It was not the first newspapers there; the '' North-West Tribune'' was published in Cheney from June 1880 to about 1886, and was the second in

Spokane County Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest ci ...

. It was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

paper in its earliest days, but switched its allegiance to the People's Party when purchased in 1898. It has been firmly embedded in its community throughout, devoting a page to local high school student editors in the teens and using its press to print newspapers for various other companies in the region.

Timeline

* 1896 established by three Northwest newspaper veterans (includes W. H. Beyer?) * Spencer L. Alexander purchased the paper in May 1898. ** Alexander brothers: Furman and Merrill buy Union Printing Co * Soon after the purchase, it was announced in a neighboring paper that the ''Free Press'' had deserted the Republican party and endorsed the People's Party and the fusion movement. * In 1912 the ''Free Press'' began dedicating one of its six pages to the local high school, whose students assumed editorial control of the page's contents. In that same year the ''Free Press'' lost a libel suit worth $1,250, and was joined by other Washington newspapers in its call for the state to update its libel laws. * 1916 G Willis Swank editor ** editor in 1923
book
* Vernon R Frost publisher (brother Guyel T Frost) *Part of Medical Lake Press in 1932 * 1936 Harry N Beall and Max Schafer buy paper * 1953 Guyel T Frost buys the paper (dies 1968) ** started as printer staff in 1933 * 1971-ish Jerald R. Adams editor ** wins 3 awards in news-design division o
1973 BNC
* 1981 Jerome 'Jerry' Jantz * Journal News Publishing purchased the paper along with the '' Davenport Times'' in 1989. Previous owners were the Wilbur and Jantz families and the Times Publishing Co. A ''Free Press'' circulation of 3,200 was reported at the time. * Journal News Publishing was controlled by majority partner Jeff Fletcher, owner of the ''

Grant County Journal Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States *Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

''. Bill Ifft bought Fletcher's interest in 2007. He renamed the company ''Free Press Publishing''; at the time the company owned several weekly newspapers in eastern Washington, including the '' Spokane Valley News Herald'' (its largest paper), the ''Davenport Times'', and several specialty publications, and owned 70% of the ''

Ritzville Journal Ritzville () is a city in Adams County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,673 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Adams County. The city is part of the Othello, WA Micropolitan Area, which comprises all of Adams Count ...

''. It had previously had an ownership stake in the ''

Newport Miner The ''Newport Miner'' is a weekly newspaper published Wednesdays in Newport, Washington, United States. It covers Newport and the surrounding communities of the Pend Oreille River valley and Pend Oreille County in the U.S. state of Washington ...

'' and the ''

Grand Coulee Star Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

'', but had sold its interest to the local owners. The company planned to buy an additional press to support its own publications and also to serve other publications such as the ''

Adams County Journal Adams may refer to: * For persons, see Adams (surname) Places United States * Adams, California *Adams, California, former name of Corte Madera, California *Adams, Decatur County, Indiana *Adams, Kentucky * Adams, Massachusetts, a New England ...

'', the '' Wilbur Register'', and the ''Miner''. * Free Press Publishing acquired the ''

Odessa Record Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrative ...

'' and ''

The Whitman County Gazette ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' in March 2020. Both newspapers are published weekly.

References

{{reflist

Timeline

References

External links