''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and is based in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, covering the eastern New River Valley and

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. According to the 2011 Scarborough “Ranker Report,” ''The Roanoke Times'' ranks fifth in the country in terms of percentage of adults reading a newspaper on weekdays in that newspaper's coverage area.

History

The ''Roanoke Daily Times'' began publication in 1886. The paper's original owner, M. H. Claytor, eventually added a companion evening newspaper, ''The Roanoke Evening News''. In 1909, he sold the paper to a group headed by banker J. B. Fishburn. The Fishburn group bought the ''Roanoke Evening World'' in 1913, merging it with the ''Evening News'' and changing its name to the ''Roanoke World-News''. At the same time, Times-World Corporation was formed as the owner of both papers. By 1931, Times-World Corporation had expanded into broadcasting with the purchase of WDBJ (now WFIR), Roanoke's first radio station. It eventually spawned an FM station (now WSLC) and a television station (which still has the

WDBJ WDBJ (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Roanoke–Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg media market, market. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Danville, Virginia, Da ...

calls). In 1969, Times-World merged with

Landmark Communications Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC (a spinoff of Landmark Communications, Inc.) is a privately held technology company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. History The ''Norfolk Landmark'' was established in 1873. It had various editors. K. C. Murray ...

, which sold off the broadcasting properties and kept the papers. In 1977, Landmark merged the two papers into a single all-day paper, ''The Roanoke Times & World-News.'' The ''World-News'' was dropped from the masthead in 1995. Landmark started shopping its newspaper properties in 2008 and sold the ''Times'' to

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...

's BH Media Group in 2013. This made the ''Times'' a sister publication to the ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second-highest circul ...

'', as well as the '' News & Advance'' of Lynchburg, the other major paper serving the Roanoke/Lynchburg media market.

Notable stories

As the major daily newspaper for Roanoke and much of

Southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all V ...

, ''The Roanoke Times'' has extensively covered news events from the area that have gained national media exposure. Some examples include: * International Marketing & Engineering Inc., investigated by ''The Roanoke Times'', 1979, subsequently featured by

Harry Reasoner Harry Reasoner (April 17, 1923 – August 6, 1991) was an American journalist for CBS and American Broadcasting Company, ABC ABC News (United States), News, known for his adroit use of language as a television commentator and as one of the origin ...

in a CBS ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' report on the company engaged in deceptive sales practices, whose officers were later sentenced to federal prison. The Roanoke Times was awarded the Virginia Press Association's W. S. Copeland Award for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service, its highest, for the investigation. The award was named after one of the prior owners of the ''Roanoke Times'', Walter Scott Copeland, but was later retitled the "Virginia Press Association Award for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service" to distance itself from its namesake. * The November 4, 1985,

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

that caused extensive damage around Roanoke and left 10 people dead. * The September 22, 2000, shooting at the Backstreet Cafe in downtown Roanoke motivated by the assailant's hatred of the establishment's gay and lesbian clientele. * The April 16, 2007,

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

, which claimed 32 lives. * The February, 2008 resignation of Roanoke City councilman Alfred Dowe. Dowe resigned after ''The Roanoke Times'' obtained documents showing that he billed taxpayers twice for some of the nearly $15,000 he spent in 2007 on meals and travel. * The Aug. 26, 2015, on-air

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

of WDBJ-TV journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward.

Notable writers, columnists and editors

* Bill Brill, writer and columnist 1956-1991, sports editor 1960-1991 *

Beth Macy Beth Macy (born ) is an American journalist and non-fiction writer. She is the author of four published books, including national bestsellers ''Factory Man'' (2014) and ''Dopesick'' (2018). Early life The daughter of a factory worker, Sarah Macy ...

, reporter 1989-2014

Popular features and columns

* Arts & Extras, arts and culture column by Mike Allen (2009 - 2021) * Cut 'N' Scratch, music feature by Tad Dickens (2007-) * McFarling Journal, sports column by Aaron McFarling (2004-) * Paparazzi, event photo feature by various contributors * Shoptimist, shopping feature by Rebecca Holland (2011-2014) Stephanie Ogilvie (2014-2016) * Style Street, fashion feature by David Verde (2011-2014) * Weather Journal, weather column by Kevin Myatt (2003-)

Awards

* 2007 Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Award for General Excellence, Class III

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roanoke Times, The Daily newspapers published in Virginia Roanoke, Virginia Newspapers established in 1886 1886 establishments in Virginia Lee Enterprises publications Newspapers published in Virginia