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The Laurel Leader is a weekly newspaper which has been published continually since 1897, serving the greater
Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. Founded as a mill town i ...
area, including Prince George's, Montgomery, Anne Arundel, and
Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
Counties. ''The Leader'' operates as a subsidiary of ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...
''.


History


Paper ownership

In 1897, James Curley founded ''The Leader'' in Laurel. Between 1897 and 1980, the ownership passed from Curley to G. Bowie McCeney to Gertrude Poe. In July 1980, Patuxent Publishing Company bought the newspaper. In September 1997, Patuxent Publishing was sold to ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...
'' which was a subsidiary of Times Mirror. In June 2000,
Tribune Publishing Tribune Publishing Company (briefly Tronc, Inc.) is an American newspaper print and online media publishing company. The company, which was acquired by Alden Global Capital in May 2021, has a portfolio that includes the ''Chicago Tribune'', t ...
purchased Times Mirror and thus the ''Baltimore Sun'', Patuxent Publishing, and the ''Laurel Leader''.


James Curley era (1897–1938)

In 1897 attorney James Curley founded ''The Leader,'' a weekly newspaper serving the approximately 2,600 residents of the city of Laurel, MD. It replaced the ''Free Quill'', one of at least six newspapers which existed in the city in the second half of the nineteenth century. Curley created the ''Leader'' to "further his business interests and rally local
Republicans 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 agains ...
," and the paper focused on national and sensational news rather than local news. Of the eight pages published each week, six consisted of national and international news while the only two were devoted to local news as well as advertisements. Curley was the paper's editor until 1938, when he gave up a half-interest in the paper as partial repayment of a mortgage debt, and sold the other half to the debt collector, G. Bowie McCeney.


Gertrude Poe era (1938–1980)

After James Curley sold the paper to G. Bowie McCeney, McCeney served as editor for six months before appointing Gertrude Poe editor in 1939. Poe had previously worked in McCeney's office and had recently graduated from
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
's law school when she was hired as the ''Leaders editor rather than joining McCeney's firm as an attorney. "He cCeneyhands me a copy f the Leaderwith a grin and says, 'My career as an editor just ended. Yours is just beginning." Poe served as the Leader's editor until 1980, while McCeney remained the paper's publisher until 1978. In 1946 the paper's name was changed to ''The News Leader'', after merging with the ''Bowie Register'' and ''The College Park News'', two other papers owned by McCeney. From 1939 until the late 1950s, the Leader was a "one woman show," with Poe serving as advertising salesperson, graphic designer, copywriter, proofreader, and distributor as well as editor. Under Poe's leadership the focus of the paper shifted from national to local news, and increasingly catered to the local military population based at nearby
Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States military bands#Army Field Band, United States Army Field Band, and the head ...
. In addition, the paper made a strong effort to focus on positive news in the city. In 1992 Poe was quoted in an interview stating: "Maybe I was a little lopsided...I still think the media in general focuses too much on the bad news...There are so many good people. That exposure in the paper means so much to them and their stories can inspire others." During Poe's tenure as editor the Leader covered major national news stories related to Laurel, including the attempted assassination of presidential candidate
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...
and the destruction of the 9th Street Bridge and several parts of downtown Laurel during
Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes was the List of costliest Atlantic hurricanes, costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, ...
. For her work, Poe received a number of major awards and honors. In 1958 she was the first woman elected president of the Maryland Press Association, the first woman elected to that position, and in 1967 was the second ever winner of the Emma C. McKinney Award given by the
National Newspaper Association The National Newspaper Association (NNA) is a Pensacola, Florida–based non-profit newspaper trade association founded in 1885. A historical marker commemorates its history.https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=46972 It published the ''National Printer - ...
. In 1987 she was the first ever living person elected into the Maryland–Delaware–D.C. Press Association Hall of Fame, and in 2011 she was elected to the
Maryland Women's Hall of Fame Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
.


Karen Yengich era (1980–1990)

In 1980, Poe retired as editor and sold the paper to newspaper chain Patuxent Publishing Company, who renamed it ''The Laurel Leader'' and appointed Assistant Editor Karen Yengich as editor. Yengich had worked for the Leader for eight years; her first assignment was to cover George Wallace's speech at Laurel Shopping Center on May 18, 1972, where Arthur Bremer attempted to assassinate Wallace. Yengich oversaw an increased focus in the paper on photography and feature articles, with a strong interest in the city's growth. She was awarded the John Hay Whitney Award in 1988, which included a year spent working at the ''
International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...
'' in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.


Joe Murchison era (1990–2007)

When Yengich left the Leader in 1990 she was replaced by Joe Murchison, a longtime professional journalist who had previously worked for the ''Fauquier Democrat'', ''Richmond News Leader'', and ''Columbia Flier,'' and who had been a reporter at the ''Leader'' since 1985, serving as acting editor in 1988–89 while Yengich was taking a year of absence. Under Murchison's guidance, the paper shifted from 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 to tabloid in January 1994, and changed from a paid to free circulation model. While Murchison was editor of the paper, major stories which appeared in the ''Leader'' included its local coverage of the
9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
terror attacks. Hijacker
Hani Hanjour Hani Salih Hasan Hanjour (; 30 August 197211 September 2001) was a Saudi terrorist who was the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Hanjour first went ...
had stayed at the Valencia Motel in Laurel prior to the attack. In 2007, Murchison retired as editor of the ''Leader''. In 2021, he retired after serving nearly a dozen years as executive director of Side by Side, a non-profit organization based in Laurel.


Melanie Dzwonchyk era and beyond (2008–present)

From 2007 to 2008, the editor of the ''Laurel Leader'' was Pete Pichaske. In August 2008 he was replaced by Melanie Dzwonchyk, who began working at the Leader as a freelance writer in 1993 and joined the paper's staff in 1995, serving as features editor under Joe Murchison. Several months later, in December 2008, the ''Leaders offices moved to the Patuxent Publishing Co. headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, and in December 2013 the Leader moved again, this time to the ''Baltimore Sun'' building in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
. In January 2014, Dzwonchyk was appointed news editor of the ''
Howard County Times ''The Howard County Times'' is a weekly newspaper serving Howard County, Maryland, USA. Although it claims to trace its earliest origins to 1840, it was refounded as a weekly newspaper in 1869 as ''The Ellicott City Times'', after the purchase ...
'' and the ''Columbia Flier'', while continuing as editor of the ''Leader''. She retired in 2017. In 2021, ''The Baltimore Sun'' announced the paper would no longer have Laurel-specific coverage but would share material from ''The Sun'' and other Tribune publications. ''The Sun'' was sold to
Alden Global Capital Alden Global Capital is a hedge fund based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 2007 by Randall D. Smith, and is a division of Smith Management LLC. Its managing director is Heath Freeman. By mid-2020, Alden had stakes in roughly two ...
in 2021, then sold to
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...
executive chairman
David D. Smith David Deniston Smith is an American businessman who has been the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI) since January 2017, having been its president and CEO from September 1990 to January 2017. In 2024, he acquired majority owners ...
in January 2024.


In popular culture

The ''Leader'' was the focus of a "Ripped from the Headlines: Laurel in the News" exhibit which opened at the Laurel Museum in February 2015 and explored the paper's coverage of local and national news throughout its existence.


References


External links

* {{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/*/http://laurelleader.com, title=Laurel Leader Laurel, Maryland Newspapers published in Maryland Newspapers established in 1897 1897 establishments in Maryland