''The Free Press'' is an American, English language daily newspaper based in Kinston,

Lenoir County, North Carolina Lenoir County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Co ...

. It has served the city of Kinston and Lenoir County, North Carolina since 1882. ''The Free Press'' was owned by

Freedom Communications Freedom Communications, Inc. was an American media conglomerate that operated daily and weekly newspapers, websites and mobile applications and television stations, as well as ''Coast Magazine'' and other specialty publications. Headquartered at ...

until 2012, when Freedom sold its Florida and North Carolina papers to

Halifax Media Group Halifax Media Group was an American newspaper company owning more than 30 newspapers in five Southeastern U.S. States. It was founded on March 31, 2010, when a group of investors purchased '' The Daytona Beach News-Journal'' from the Davidson fam ...

. In November 2014, Halifax announced the sale of The Free Press and its other properties to

New Media Investment Group Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...

Inc. In 2015, Halifax was acquired by

, which was merged into

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...

in 2019.

Printing

It was a

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

-format daily until June 1, 2009, when it and two sister dailies, the

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

'' Sun Journal'' and the

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 14th-most populous city in North Caroli ...

'' Daily News'' converted to a

Berliner Berliner is most often used to designate a citizen of Berlin, Germany Berliner may also refer to: People * Berliner (surname) Places * Berliner Lake, a lake in Minnesota, United States * Berliner Philharmonie, concert hall in Berlin, Germany ...

-style format. Since the format change all three papers are laid out and are published in Jacksonville. The Free Press (and its sister publications in New Bern and Jacksonville) returned to the broadsheet format on May 1, 2014, after readers requested the change. The ''Free Press'' is available on the Internet ( for full access) and on Facebook for dissemination of news and interaction with readers.

History

The ''Free Press'' was founded in 1882 by

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

and his brother Charles Daniels. The newspaper was an active supporter of

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

and the Democratic party. The name has changed several times since then. * ''The Kinston Free Press'' (1882–1923), * ''The Daily Free Press'' (1902–1923), * ''The Kinston Free Press'' (1882–1923, * ''The Daily Free Press'' (1902–1923), * ''The Kinston Daily Free Press'' (1923–1991), * ''The Free Press'' (1991–current), In November 2022

Paxton Media Group Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Kentucky, is a privately held media company with holdings that include newspapers and a TV station, WPSD-TV in Paducah. David M. Paxton is president and CEO. The company owns 32 daily newspapers and numerous wee ...

acquired The Free Press and five other North Carolina newspapers from

Co., Inc.

Awards

The ''Free Press'' is a member of the

North Carolina Press Association The North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) is an American, nonprofit organization devoted to protecting and promoting newspapers and freedom of the press in the state of North Carolina. It was established in 1872 in Charlotte, North Carolina an ...

. The ''Free Press'' won 47 North Carolina Press Association awards from 2010 to 2012, the most in a three-year period in the paper's history. It was named the top newspaper in North Carolina's Class D (Daily, 12,000-and-under) in 2014.

References

{{Gannett Lenoir County, North Carolina Daily newspapers published in North Carolina Newspapers established in 1882 Gannett publications

Printing

History

Awards

See also

References