Columbus Telegram
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The ''Columbus Telegram'' is a newspaper owned by
Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 72 daily newspapers in 25 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...
and published in
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...
, in the east-central part of the state of
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
in the
Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
. It is delivered on Tuesday through Friday afternoon and on Saturday morning."About the Columbus Telegram".Columbus Telegram website.
Retrieved 2010-03-11.


History


19th century

On February 28, 1874, W. N. Hensley founded the ''Columbus Era''.Cutler, William (1882).



Retrieved 2010-03-11.
At that time, Columbus had two newspapers, the ''Journal'' and the ''Republican'', both Republican in policy. Hensley, a young lawyer, was working for Dr. George Miller, publisher of the ''Omaha Herald'' and a leader in the Democratic Party, who advised him to start a Democratic newspaper in Columbus.Curry, Margaret (1950a).
"The Press".
Retrieved 2010-03-12.
The ''Era'' briefly ceased publication in November 1880; on April 9, 1881, it reappeared as the Columbus ''Democrat'', managed by A. B. Coffroth and J. K. Coffroth. In 1892, the name was changed to the ''Telegram''. In the early 1890s, D. Frank Davis attempted to publish the newspaper as a daily; however, Columbus was not large enough to support this, and the paper resumed weekly publication.


Edgar Howard

In 1900, Edgar Howard bought the ''Telegram'' from J. L. Paschal, who had been elected state senator. A lawyer and newspaperman, Howard was a strong Democrat. In 1883, he had purchased the ''Papillion Times'' in
Papillion, Nebraska Papillion is a city in and the county seat of Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The city developed in the 1870s as a railroad town and suburb of Omaha. The city is part of the larger five-county metro area of Omaha. Papillion's populatio ...
; in 1887, he had left the ''Times'' to go to
Benkelman Benkelman is a city in and the county seat of Dundy County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 821. History Benkelman was originally called Collinsville, in honor of Moses Collins, and under that name was ...
in southwestern Nebraska, where he founded the ''Dundy Democrat''. In 1890, he had returned to Papillion and bought back the ''Times''. He had served a few months as
William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...
's private secretary in 1891; Retrieved 2010-03-12. in 1894, he was elected to a term in the
Nebraska House of Representatives The Nebraska House of Representatives was the lower house of the Nebraska Legislature during the days when Nebraska was a territory from 1854 to 1867 and then as a state from 1867 to 1936. In 1934, Nebraska voters amended the Nebraska Constitut ...
representing
Sarpy County Sarpy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,604, making it the third-most populous county in Nebraska. Its county seat is Papillion. Sarpy County is part of the Omaha-Council B ...
;"Howard, Edgar (1858-1951)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Retrieved 2010-03-12.
in 1896, he had resigned this seat to become probate judge of Sarpy County. Retrieved 2010-03-12. In 1900, he made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
. In that same year, he sold the ''Times'', moved to Columbus, and purchased the ''Telegram''. He remained its editor for over fifty years."Edgar Howard, One of State's Most Colorful Citizens, Dies". ''Columbus Daily Telegram''. 1951-07-19. p. 1. In 1901, Howard incorporated the newspaper as the Telegram Company. In 1912, Zela H. Loomis, who had worked as a reporter and day editor for two
Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it t ...
newspapers, became managing editor and city editor of the ''Telegram''; in the following year, he became vice-president of the company. In 1922, the Telegram Company bought out the ''Columbus Daily News'' and ended publication of that title; the ''Telegram'' went from weekly to daily publication as the ''Columbus Daily Telegram''. In that year, Howard was elected to the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
. He sold most of his stock to his associates in the company; however, at their request, he retained enough to allow him to remain president of the company and editor of the paper for the rest of his life. Howard was re-elected to the House five times, serving from 1923 to 1935. In 1934, he lost the seat to
Karl Stefan Karl Stefan (March 1, 1884 – October 2, 1951) was a Czech-American politician, newspaper editor, publisher, and radio commentator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Nebraska's 3rd congressional district in the U. ...
.


After Howard

In 1940, Zela Loomis acquired a controlling interest in the Telegram Company and became editor-publisher of the newspaper."Zela H. Loomis, editor, publisher of Telegram dies; rites Wednesday". ''Columbus Daily Telegram''. 1957-03-18. p. 1. After Howard's death in 1951, Loomis's name appeared at the top of the masthead as editor. Zela Loomis died in 1957, whereupon his widow Svea Loomis became president and associate editor,"Former Telegram publisher dead at 84, funeral Saturday". ''Columbus Telegram''. 1976-09-09. and their son Laird Loomis general manager.O'Brien, Irene (1992). "Keep us in Touch on Paper and Airwaves". ''Columbus 1992: A Snapshot''. p. 87. In 1969, the Loomis family sold the newspaper to Freedom Newspapers, Inc. Shortly after the transaction, the "Daily" was removed from the name, leaving it the ''Columbus Telegram''. In 1974, the newspaper made the conversion from
letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...
to
offset Offset or Off-Set may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Off-Set", a song by T.I. and Young Thug from the '' Furious 7: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' * ''Offset'' (EP), a 2018 EP by singer Kim Chung-ha * ''Offset'' (film), a 200 ...
printing. The
Omaha World-Herald Company The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ...
bought the ''Telegram'' from Freedom Newspapers in September 1989. At the same time, the World-Herald bought the ''Pawnee Scout'' shopper, which they merged with the ''Telegram''. In 1998, the World-Herald sold the ''Telegram'' to Independent Media Group, Inc. (IMG). At the time of the sale, the paper's circulation was reported as 11,500. IMG was sold to Lee Enterprises and to
Liberty Group Publishing GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group ...
in 2000; Lee acquired the ''Telegram'', whose circulation was again reported as 11,500; the circulation of the ''Scout Shopper'' was given as 13,000.


The ''Telegram'' today

The publisher of the ''Telegram'' is Carrie Colburn, who also publishes the daily
York News-Times The ''York News-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in York, Nebraska. It is the newspaper of record for York County and surrounding counties in the Rainwater Basin region. Part of Berkshire Hathaway's BH Media Group, the ''News-Times'' is ...
and the weekly David City ''Banner-Press'' and Schuyler ''Sun''. Colburn was appointed to the position in 2021. The editor is Monica Garcia. The market area for the newspaper consists of 24,000 households in seven counties in east central Nebraska: Boone,
Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...
, Colfax, Merrick, Nance, Platte, and
Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...
. A weekly supplement, the ''Telegram Advantage'', is delivered to both subscribers and non-subscribers.


References


External links

* * {{Lee Enterprises Newspapers published in Nebraska Lee Enterprises publications Companies based in Platte County, Nebraska 1874 establishments in Nebraska Daily newspapers published in the United States Newspapers established in 1874