Speidel Newspapers, Inc. was an American newspaper publisher with properties in the west and midwestern United States. It announced a merger with

Gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. They are known as 'solan' or 'solan goose' in Scotland. A common misconception is that the Scottish name is 'guga' but this is the Gaelic n ...

in 1976 that grew the combined company to 73 newspapers.

History

The company was founded as Merritt Speidel and associates by Merritt C. Speidel in 1921 with the help of John Ben Snow. The company started with the ''

Iowa City Press-Citizen The ''Iowa City Press-Citizen'' is a daily newspaper published in Iowa City, Iowa, United States that serves most of Johnson County and portions of surrounding counties. Its primary competitors are '' The Gazette'' of Cedar Rapids, which has a n ...

''. In 1936, the company bought the ''Fort Collins Express-Courier'' which would become the ''

Fort Collins Coloradoan The ''Coloradoan'' is a daily newspaper in Fort Collins, Colorado. The ''Coloradoan''s website is updated throughout the day with breaking news and video coverage of community news in Northern Colorado. History Founded by Joseph L. McClella ...

''. It added the ''Poughkeepsie Evening Star and Enterprise'' and the ''Poughkeepsie Morning Eagle-News'' (predecessors of the '' Poughkeepsie New Yorker'') in 1941. The '' Visalia Times-Delta'' became the company's 7th newspaper in 1948. Speidel retired from his namesake company in 1956. He died four years later in 1960. At the time, the group included the '' Poughkeepsie New Yorker'', ''

Chillicothe Gazette The ''Chillicothe Gazette'' is Ohio's oldest newspaper. The daily newspaper is based in Chillicothe, Ohio, the seat of Ross County, and is owned by Gannett. A complete file is in the library of the Ohio Historical Society in Cincinnati. Histo ...

'', the '' Evening Gazette and Evening State Journal'', ''

'', the '' Sailinas Daily Californian'', and the '' Visalia Times-Delta''. Speidel was the target of a potential takeover attempt by

Thomson Newspapers Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organization and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to form Thomson Reuter ...

in 1974 which it took steps to block. When it merged with Gannett in 1976, 13 newspapers were part of the company. At the time, the newspapers included the '' St. Cloud Times'', the ''

Argus Leader The ''Argus Leader'' is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is the largest newspaper by total circulation in South Dakota. It is owned by Gannett and part of the USA Today Network. History The ''Argus Leader'' traces its h ...

'', the ''

'', the '' Record'', the ''

Fremont Tribune The ''Fremont Tribune'' is a daily newspaper in Fremont, Nebraska. History The ''Tribune'' was founded on July 24, 1868, by J.N. Hayes. It was purchased in 1966 by Speidel Newspapers; Gannett Co. acquired the paper in 1977 through its merge ...

'', and others. When it merged with Gannett, Speidel consisted of the following newspapers: * ''

'' * '' Poughkeepsie New Yorker'' * ''

'' * '' Evening Gazette and Evening State Journal'' * ''

'' * '' Sailinas Daily Californian'' * '' Visalia Times-Delta'' * '' St. Cloud Times'' * ''

'' * ''

'' * '' Record'' * ''

References

{{Reflist Newspaper companies of the United States 1921 establishments in the United States 1976 disestablishments in the United States