''The Herald-Dispatch'' is a non-daily

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 poli ...

that serves

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

, and neighboring communities in southern

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and eastern

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. It is currently owned by HD Media Co. LLC. It currently publishes Tuesdays-Saturdays, with the Saturday edition dated "Weekend", with updates on its website on Sundays and Mondays.

History

''The Herald-Dispatch'' was founded in 1909 when two Huntington newspapers, the ''Herald'' and the ''Dispatch'', merged. In 1927, the newspaper became a part of the Huntington Publishing Company, operated by Joseph Harvey Long, the owner of the ''Huntington Advertiser''. The company was operated by the Long family until 1971, when it was sold to the ''

Honolulu Star Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honol ...

'' and then to Gannett ten months later. Its companion afternoon paper, the ''Huntington Advertiser'', ceased as a separate publication in 1979. Prior to the ''Huntington Advertiser's'' demise, the combined Sunday newspaper was referred to as the ''Herald-Advertiser'', correctly depicted in the movie ''

We Are Marshall ''We Are Marshall'' is a 2006 American biographical sports drama film directed by McG. It depicts the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 people: 37 players of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, five coaches, ...

''. Today, it also publishes the ''Putnam Herald'' and the ''Lawrence Herald'', more localized editions of ''The Herald-Dispatch'' serving

Putnam County, West Virginia Putnam County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 57,440. Its county seat is Winfield, its largest incorporated city is Hurricane, and its largest community is the census-designated place ...

and

Lawrence County, Ohio Lawrence County is the southernmost county of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,240. Its county seat is Ironton. The county was created in 1815 and later organized in 1817. It is named for James Lawrence, t ...

, respectively. For the six-month period ending March 31, 2005, the total average paid circulation was 29,098 for the daily edition and 35,552 for the Sunday edition. On May 8, 2007, the newspaper was sold to

Gatehouse Media 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 ...

, then to Champion Industries on June 29. Then on May 23, 2009, Champion Industries, which owned the paper at that time, revealed that it was in default of a $70 million loan from

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the parent company of Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), which operates 1,100 branches and 2,400 automated teller machines, which are located in 11 states: Oh ...

and the previous owners, and eliminated 24 positions, representing about 15% of its workforce. In October 2011, they laid off additional employees. In 2013, Champion Industries sold ''The Herald-Dispatch'' to local politician, Douglas Reynolds, the son of Champion's chief executive. In 2014, ''The Herald-Dispatch'' parent company HD Media acquired the ''Wayne County News'' in Wayne, West Virginia. In 2015, the newspaper ceased printing itself, contracting the operation to the ''

Charleston Gazette-Mail The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is a non-daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the '' Charleston Daily Mail''. It is one of nine papers owned by HD M ...

'' and laid off its production staff. The newspaper is now printed in Charleston and trucked 50 miles to Huntington for distribution. In 2017, HD Media acquired the '' Logan Banner'', ''

Williamson Daily News The ''Williamson Daily News'' is a newspaper in Williamson, West Virginia. It was founded in 1912 and is the successor to a previous weekly effort, ''The Southern West Virginian'', founded in 1900. As of July 3, 2019, the paper publishes as a ...

'', the ''Coal Valley News'' in Madison and ''The Pineville Independent Herald'' in Pineville from

Civitas Media Civitas Media, LLC was a Davidson, North Carolina–based publisher of community newspapers covering 11 Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern states. History The company was formed in 2012 via the merger of Heartland Publications, Impressio ...

. On March 8, 2018, HD Media, the Herald-Dispatch's holding company, was declared the successful bid in the auction for the

after the paper had declared bankruptcy. On July 16, 2023, the newspaper announced the elimination of its Sunday print edition. Instead, a combined weekend edition would be sent out on Saturday starting Aug. 5.

Other papers owned by HD Media

*''

'' *'' Logan Banner'' *''

'' *''Coal Valley News'' in Madison *''The Pineville Independent Herald'' in Pineville *''Wayne County News''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herald-Dispatch Newspapers published in West Virginia Newspapers established in 1909 Huntington, West Virginia 1909 establishments in West Virginia

History

Other papers owned by HD Media

See also

References

External links