The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the '' Houston Chronicle''.

History

Gail Borden Johnson Gail may refer to: People *Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...

founded the ''Houston Post'' on February 19, 1880. He expanded the paper by acquiring the Houston ''Telegraph'', the legacy of the ''

Telegraph and Texas Register ''Telegraph and Texas Register'' (1835–1877) was the second permanent newspaper in Texas. Originally conceived as the ''Telegraph and Texas Planter'', the newspaper was renamed shortly before it began publication, to reflect its new mission ...

'', which operated the first press in Texas after the Texas Revolution. By 1884, however, the paper was financially distressed, when

William R. Baker William Robinson Baker (1820–1890) was a railroad executive, Texas State Senator and Mayor of Houston, Texas. Early life Baker was born on May 21, 1820, in Baldwinsville, New York to Asa Baker and the former Hannah Robinson. He lived in New ...

led a group of investors to bailout the publication. Despite their efforts, the original publication ceased in October 1884. The ''Houston Post'' was re-established with the merger of the ''Houston Morning Chronicle'' and the ''Houston Evening Journal'' on April 5, 1885.

J. L. Watson ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

was the business manager and

Rienzi M. Johnston Rienzi Melville Johnston (September 9, 1849February 28, 1926) was an American journalist and politician. He edited the ''Houston Post'' from 1885 to 1919, and served a 29-day term in the United States Senate in January 1913 after the resignation ...

was the editor. Watson implemented the use of linotype machines to replace the process of manual typesetting. He gained financial control of the paper through acquiring more stock in the company. Short story writer

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the M ...

worked briefly for the ''Post'' in 1895 and 1896. He had to leave his position at the ''Post'' when he was indicted for

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

from previous employment at a bank in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. From 1924 to 1983, the ''Post'' was owned by the Hobby family, who also began Houston's first radio station, KPRC (AM) in 1925. Amid declining sales, the ''Post'' was sold in 1983 to the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Postmedia Place i ...

''.

H&C Communications H&C Communications is a defunct corporation that owned a number of media outlets throughout the United States. Originally known as Channel 2 Television Company, a reference to the channel number of flagship station KPRC-TV, it was created in 1983 ...

was created in the aftermath of the sale for the Hobby family to retain control of the broadcasting assets that consisted of TV stations across the U.S., especially local NBC affiliate KPRC-TV, and radio station KPRC (AM). Four years later,

MediaNews Group MNG Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado-based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. The company has been growing its portfolio and as of May 2021, owns over 100 newspa ...

, led by

William Dean Singleton William Dean Singleton (born August 1, 1951) is an American newspaper executive. He is the founder and executive board chairman of MediaNews Group, the fourth-largest newspaper company in the United States in terms of circulation, with 53 daily pa ...

, bought the paper. The ''Houston Post'' building, in the 1970s, had contemporary artwork, slate floors, and wood-grain concrete walls. Tours of the building and its facilities were given at the time. The ''Houston Post'' later closed permanently, with the final edition printed on April 18, 1995. Its assets and liabilities were acquired by

Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televis ...

, the publisher of the ''Post''s rival daily '' Houston Chronicle''. The Hearst Corporation acquired the Houston Post headquarters, which included the newspaper's printing facilities and five offset press lines. Hearst began to use the facilities as part of the production of the ''Houston Chronicle''. ''Houston Chronicle'' newspapers were distributed to former ''Houston Post'' subscribers. The facility now serves as a ''Houston Chronicle'' plant and the headquarters of the ''Houston Chronicle'' Spanish newspaper '' La Voz de Houston''.Moreno, Jenalia.
Chronicle buys La Voz Spanish newspaper
" '' Houston Chronicle''. Friday December 3, 2004. Retrieved on January 8, 2012.

Final sale

The

, parent company of the ''Houston Chronicle'', bought out the ''Houston Post'' from Consolidated Papers, Inc. on April 18, 1995, ending a 94-year-old crosstown rivalry. Hearst shut the paper down, reportedly for the purpose of eliminating local competition for readership and advertisers. The former owners cited the increasing cost of newsprint, which they had expected to rise up to $39 million from $26 million the previous year. The ''Houston Post'' reported an average daily circulation of over 287,000 that year, with a Sunday circulation of almost 317,000. The ''Houston Post'' did not announce the sale of the paper in its final edition on April 18.

Availability of ''Houston Post'' articles

Some ''Houston Post'' articles had been made available in the archives of the '' Houston Chronicle'' website, but by 2005 they were removed. The ''Houston Chronicle'' online editor Mike Read said that the ''Houston Chronicle'' decided to remove ''Houston Post'' articles from the website after the 2001 United States Supreme Court ''

New York Times Co. v. Tasini ''New York Times Co. v. Tasini'', 533 U.S. 483 (2001), is a leading decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of copyright in the contents of a newspaper database. It held that ''The New York Times'', in licensing back issues of the ...

'' decision; the newspaper originally planned to filter articles not permitted by the decision and to post articles that were not prohibited by the decision. The ''Houston Chronicle'' decided not to post or re-post any more ''Houston Post'' articles because of difficulties in complying with the ''New York Times Co. v. Tasini'' decision with the resources that were available to the newspaper.Newkirk, Jim.
Houston Post archives permanently unavailable online, maybe, likely, really...

'' Houston Chronicle''. July 1, 2005. Retrieved on July 3, 2010. People interested in reading ''Houston Post'' articles may view them on microfilm. The Houston Public Library has the newspaper on microfilm from 1880 to 1995 and the ''Houston Post Index'' from 1976 to 1994. The microfilm of 1880–1900 is in the Texas and Local History Department of the

Julia Ideson Building The Julia Ideson Building is a Houston Public Library facility in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It is named for Julia Bedford Ideson, who served as the system's first head librarian for 40 years. The Spanish Renaissance-style build ...

, while 1900–1995 is in the Jesse H. Jones Building, the main building of the Central Library. In addition the University of Houston's main library has the ''Houston Post'' available on microfilm from 1880 to 1995 and the ''Houston Post Index'' from 1976 to 1979 and from 1987 to 1994. The National Endowment for the Humanities has online searchable past issues of the ''Houston Post'' from 1893 to 1903 in the newspaper section. The Dallas Public Library archival collection also has a microfilm collection of the ''Houston Post'' from February 23, 1881 – June 1884, March 1887 – December 1906, and June 1977 – March 1995. The collection includes the paper through different title variations, including the ''Houston Daily Post''.

Gallery

File:"Houston Post" (April 3, 1917).jpeg, Front page of the ''Houston Post'' on April 3, 1917 File:Houston Post Press Room.jpeg, A view of the press room, with rotary plates waiting to be locked into the press File:Houston Post Building, Houston, Texas (1904).jpg, Houston Post Building, Houston, Texas (postcard, circa 1904) File:World Famous Red Headed Widows, Houston, Texas.jpg, World Famous Red Headed Widows, Houston, Texas (postcard, circa 1909)

References

External links