Quincy Media, Inc., formerly known as Quincy Newspapers, Inc., was a family-owned media company that originated in the newspapers of

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

. The company's history can be traced back to 1835, when the ''Bounty Land Register'' was one of four newspapers in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Over the next

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

, a number of mergers followed. The company moved into

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

in 1947 and began

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcasts in 1953. The company was owned by the Oakley and Lindsay families of Quincy.

History

The corporation was formed in Quincy on June 1, 1926, as Quincy Newspapers after the merger of the ''Quincy Herald'', direct descendant of the ''Illinois Bounty Land Register'' first published in Quincy in 1835, and the ''Quincy Whig-Journal'', descendant of the ''Quincy Whig'' founded in 1838. The two papers were combined to form a single daily paper, the ''Quincy Herald-Whig.'' The ''Herald'' was purchased in September 1891 by three men from Rockford, Charles L. Miller, Hedley John Eaton and Edmund Botsford. Miller had earlier founded the '' Rockford Daily Register'', that city's oldest newspaper. Subsequently, Miller brought to the ''Herald'' his brother-in-law and nephew, respectively, Aaron Burr Oakley and Ray M. Oakley, the first two generations of the Oakleys in the newspaper business in Quincy. Miller spent four years in Quincy, returning to Rockford in 1896 to join Harry M. Johnson in ownership of the ''Rockford Republic''. He retired as editor of the ''Republic'' in 1913 and died in 1921. Hedley Eaton retired in 1913 and died in 1936. Eaton's son John Dewitt Eaton stayed with the paper as Advertising Manager until his retirement in 1955. Two brothers from Decatur, Frank M. Lindsay, Sr. and Arthur O. Lindsay, Sr. bought the ''Quincy Whig'' in 1915, with Arthur Lindsay taking up residence in Quincy as president and manager. Frank Lindsay remained in Decatur with the Decatur Herald and formed an association with another Illinois newspaper family, the Schaubs. In 1920, the Lindsays consolidated the ''Whig'' and ''The Quincy Journal'', founded in 1883. QNI entered broadcasting in 1947, the year it started Quincy's first commercial FM station, WQDI. The following year QNI purchased Quincy Broadcasting Co. to operate WGEM, the city's second AM station. WQDI became WGEM-FM in 1953. QniHQ

Quincy Broadcasting produced the Quincy region's first television broadcast on September 4, 1953, with the launch of WGEM-TV, the area's

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

affiliate. The building containing the ground floor studios of the WGEM stations was also the former home of the Tremont Hotel, and Quincy Media continues to operate it as the New Tremont Apartments, containing both long-term and extended stay accommodations. In 1969, QNI and six other newspaper entities formed American Newspapers Inc., which bought '' The New Jersey Herald'' in

Newton, New Jersey Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an Local government in the United States, incorporated municipality in and the county seat of Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex CountyWSJV in

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The population was 53,923 at the 2020 census. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana. It is the most populous city in the Elkhart–Goshen metropolitan area, which in tu ...

(serving

South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

) was acquired in 1974; KROC-TV (renamed KTTC) in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

in 1976; WHIS-TV (renamed WVVA) in

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a populatio ...

in 1979;

KTIV KTIV (channel 4) is a television station in Sioux City, Iowa, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Gray Media, the station has studios on Signal Hill Drive in Sioux City, and its transmitter is located near Hinton, Iowa ...

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

in 1989; and WREX-TV in Rockford in 1995. All of the stations were also NBC affiliates at their acquisitions except for WSJV and WREX, which were ABC affiliates; however, in 1995, WSJV dropped ABC for Fox, and soon thereafter WREX joined NBC. Also in 1995, ''The Merchant'', a weekly shopper in Quincy was purchased by the company. In June 2001, QNI purchased from Shockley Communications five ABC affiliates in Wisconsin: WKOW-TV in Madison, WAOW-TV in Wausau; WYOW in Eagle River (a

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

of WAOW); WXOW-TV in La Crosse; and WQOW-TV in Eau Claire (a

semi-satellite A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or trans ...

of WXOW). Also purchased from SCC at the time was ProVideo of Wisconsin, Inc. consisting of a component digital online suite and a fully integrated non-linear online suite in Madison, Wisconsin. Concurrent with the Shockley purchase, KTTC entered into a shared services agreement with KXLT-TV, the Fox affiliate in Rochester, Minnesota. KTTC provides all services for KXLT excluding sales, traffic, and programming. Quincy Newspapers Inc logo

On July 1, 2006, QNI purchased KWWL, the NBC affiliate in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, from

Raycom Media Raycom Media, Inc. was an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama. Raycom owned and/or provided services for 65 television stations and two radio stations across 44 markets in 20 states. Raycom ...

. In February 2009, QNI purchased

Crandon, Wisconsin Crandon is a city in Forest County, Wisconsin, United States; it is in the northeastern part of the state, about north of Green Bay. The population was 1,713 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Forest County and is the only inco ...

's WBIJ from the widow of the station's founder, with the intention to operate the station as a satellite station of WAOW; QNI subsequently renamed the station WMOW to conform with its other Wisconsin properties. On February 11, 2014, Quincy announced plans to acquire a number of small and mid-market stations from Granite Broadcasting, including

WEEK-TV WEEK-TV (channel 25) is a television station licensed to Peoria, Illinois, United States, affiliated with NBC, American Broadcasting Company, ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Roar (TV network), Roar affiliat ...

in Peoria,

KBJR-TV KBJR-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Superior, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Duluth, Minnesota, area as an affiliate of NBC and CBS. It is owned by Gray Media alongside CW+ affiliate KDLH (channel 3). The two stations ...

Superior, Wisconsin Superior (; ) is a city in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the western end of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin, the city l ...

, KRII in

Chisholm, Minnesota Chisholm is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,775 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city has been called "The Heart of the Iron Range" due to its location i ...

(a satellite of KBJR), and

WBNG-TV WBNG-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Binghamton, New York, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Gray Media, and maintains studios on Columbia Drive in Johnson City and a transmitter on Ingraha ...

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

(the company's first CBS affiliate; WEEK and KBJR/KRII are NBC affiliates). As part of the deal, Quincy originally planned to purchase

WPTA WPTA (channel 21) is a television station in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, affiliated with ABC, NBC, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Media alongside CW+ affiliate WISE-TV (channel 33). The two stations share studios on Butler Ro ...

, the ABC affiliate in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, from Malara Broadcast Group, and provide services to ABC affiliate WHOI and

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...

affiliate WAOE in Peoria, NBC affiliate WISE-TV in Fort Wayne, and CBS affiliate KDLH in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. In November 2014, the deal was reworked so that Quincy would acquire WISE and provide services to WPTA, retaining the arrangement between the stations established by Granite. In July 2015, the deal was reworked yet again; Quincy would, yet again, acquire WPTA instead of WISE, and Malara's stations would be acquired by SagamoreHill Broadcasting. Quincy also proposed to wind down its shared services agreements with WISE and KDLH within nine months of the sale's completion: both stations would move their existing network affiliations to WPTA and KBJR, and become independently-operated stations airing The CW. On September 15, 2015, the FCC approved the deal. In 2015, the company's flagship title dropped Quincy from its masthead and became simply the ''Herald-Whig''. In 2016, the Herald-Whig and Quincy Media applied for a demolition permit for the historic Morgan-Wells House in Quincy for expansion of their offices. The NRHP-listed local landmark was the home of notable Quincy residents and institutions for over a century, now demolished. In January 2016, the company changed its name to Quincy Media. On May 21, 2018, it was announced that Quincy Media would acquire KDLH outright for $792,557 and WISE for $952,884. While the FCC normally prohibits one company from owning two television licenses in the same market when both are among the top four rated stations, Quincy submitted a filing saying that during the November 2017 "sweeps" period KBJR-TV was the top ranked station while KDLH placed fifth, and that WPTA was the second ranked station while WISE-TV placed fifth. The sale was completed on August 1. On August 29, 2018, Quincy Media's stations were pulled from

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

after failing to reach a new retransmission fee agreement. On October 12, Quincy Media reached a new agreement with Dish Network to continue carrying Quincy Media stations. On October 29, 2018, Quincy announced it would be acquiring KVOA in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, from Cordillera Communications for $70 million as a side deal of the latter company's acquisition by the E. W. Scripps Company. Two days later, on October 31, Quincy announced that it would be acquiring

WSIL-TV WSIL-TV (channel 3) and KPOB-TV (channel 15) are television stations licensed respectively to Harrisburg, Illinois, and Poplar Bluff, Missouri, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliates for Southern Illinois, So ...

Harrisburg, Illinois Harrisburg () is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Illinois, United States. It is located about southwest of Evansville, Indiana, and southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Its 2020 population was 8,219, and the surrounding Harris ...

and KPOB, Poplar Bluff, MO, from Mel Wheeler, Inc. for $24.5 million. On May 10, 2019, Quincy announced it would purchase the '' Hannibal Courier-Post'' from

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 ...

, marking its first daily newspaper expansion since 1969. Six days later, on May 16, Quincy announced the sale of the ''New Jersey Herald'' to GateHouse Media, ending Quincy's 50-year ownership of the paper. On January 7, 2021, television industry news website FTVLive obtained an internal memo from President and CEO Ralph Oakley confirming that Quincy Media had put itself up for sale. The news was later publicly confirmed by QMI. On February 1, 2021,

Gray Television Gray Media, Inc., doing business as Gray Television, is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 statio ...

announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire all Quincy Media television properties for $925 million in a cash transaction, along with the WGEM AM/FM radio stations in Quincy (Gray owned one small

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

in Texas otherwise, also acquired as part of another television group). As a result, several Quincy stations will be divested to be in compliance with regulations from the FCC and the Department of Justice. On April 29, it was announced that

Allen Media Group Allen Media Group, alternately known by its former name of Entertainment Studios, Inc. is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved ...

will purchase 10 Quincy stations not being acquired by Gray Television for $380 million. The newspapers were sold to another family-owned publishing company, Phillips Media Group of

Harrison, Arkansas The city of Harrison is the county seat of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is named after Marcus LaRue Harrison, a surveyor who laid out the city along Crooked Creek (Arkansas), Crooked Creek at Stifler Springs. According to 2019 Cen ...

, in a separate transaction."Herald-Whig, Courier-Post sold to Phillips Media Group LLC"
''Quincy Herald-Whig'', February 13, 2021, Retrieved August 1, 2021. The transaction was completed on August 2."Gray Television Closes Quincy Acquisition"
,

, August 2, 2021, Retrieved August 2, 2021.

Former properties

Newspapers

* ''Herald-Whig'', Quincy, Illinois - now owned by Phillips Media Group. * '' Hannibal Courier-Post'', Hannibal, Missouri - now owned by Phillips Media Group.

Television and radio

* Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

. * Two boldface asterisks appearing following a station's call letters (**) indicate a station built and signed on by Quincy.

References

External links

QuincyMediaCareers
— official website since 2018 *
Quincy
— archive of official website from 2011 to 2018 *

— archive of official website from 2005 to 2011 {{Gray TV, state=collapsed 1926 establishments in Illinois 2021 disestablishments in Illinois Companies based in Adams County, Illinois Defunct newspaper companies of the United States Defunct broadcasting companies of the United States Defunct radio broadcasting companies of the United States Defunct television broadcasting companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Illinois Newspaper companies of the United States Newspapers published in Illinois Quincy–Hannibal area American companies established in 1926 American companies disestablished in 2021 Publishing companies established in 1926 Mass media companies established in 1926 Mass media companies disestablished in 2021 2021 mergers and acquisitions Privately held companies based in Illinois Family-owned companies of the United States Gray Media