Stauffer Communications was a privately held media corporation based in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat ...

, that owned many publications and broadcast outlets, including the ''

Topeka Capital-Journal ''The Topeka Capital-Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Topeka, Kansas, owned by Gannett. History The paper was formed following numerous name changes and mergers, including the merger of ''The Topeka Daily Capital'' and ''The Topeka State Jour ...

'' and WIBW, WIBW-FM, and

WIBW-TV WIBW-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Topeka, Kansas, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located on Commerce Place (next to the interchange of I-70, I-470, US 40, US 75 and K-4 ...

. The company operated from 1930 to 1995.

History

The company was founded by

Oscar S. Stauffer Oscar Stanley Stauffer (November 26, 1886 – February 24, 1982) was founder of the media company Stauffer Communications and is often credited with starting the bandwagon for Kansas Governor Alf Landon getting the Republican nomination for Presi ...

in 1930 as Stauffer Publications. Oscar Stauffer had started a

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

career at the ''

Emporia Gazette The ''Emporia Gazette'' is a daily newspaper in Emporia, Kansas. History William Allen White bought the newspaper for $3,000 ($ in dollars) in 1895. Through his editorship, over the next five decades, he became an iconic figure in American jou ...

'' and ''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and ...

'', and in 1915 had become the publisher of the '' Peabody Gazette-Hearld'' in

Peabody, Kansas Peabody is a city in Marion County, Kansas, United States. It is named after F.H. Peabody, of Boston, former vice-president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Peabody is well known in the region for its Independence Day Celebration on ...

until 1922. When Stauffer died at age 95 in 1982 the company had grown to include 31 newspapers and broadcast companies in 11 states.Ferguson, Lew
Journalism era ends with sale of Stauffer holdings
''

Fort Scott Tribune ''The Fort Scott Tribune'' is a daily newspaper serving Fort Scott, Kansas, United States. It has been owned by Rust Communications since 2004.

'', June 17, 1995 Oscar Stauffer's son John H. Stauffer became head of the company in 1992. In 1994, the company arranged to sell its properties to

Morris Communications Morris Communications, headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, is a privately held media company with diversified holdings that include magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications, and online serv ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georg ...

. The transaction was completed in 1995 for $275 million. At the time of its sale, Stauffer's multi-state operations included 20 daily newspapers, 11 radio stations, 3 magazines, and the broadcast rights to

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

baseball. As a condition of the sale, Morris had to sell Stauffer's television holdings. Most of the former Stauffer television holdings, including WIBW-TV, were sold to Benedek Broadcasting in 1996. Morris also sold off all of Stauffer's magazines and its insurance and alarm operations. Mary Stauffer Brownback, daughter of John Stauffer and granddaughter of Oscar Stauffer, is married to former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and

Kansas Governor The governor of Kansas is the head of state of KansasKS Const. art. I, § 3. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Kan ...

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom from 2018 to 2021. Brownba ...

Properties

Newspapers

Florida

* News Chief (Florida)

Kansas

* Grit (newspaper) (national) * The Newton Kansan (Kansas) *

The Topeka Capital-Journal ''The Topeka Capital-Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Topeka, Kansas, owned by Gannett. History The paper was formed following numerous name changes and mergers, including the merger of ''The Topeka Daily Capital'' and ''The Topeka State Jou ...

(Kansas) * Dodge City Daily Globe (Kansas) * The Morning Sun (Pittsburg) (Kansas) * The Arkansas City Traveler (Kansas) *

Peabody Gazette-Bulletin The ''Peabody Gazette-Bulletin'' is a local weekly newspaper for the cities of Peabody, Burns, Florence in the state of Kansas. The paper publishes every Wednesday. The newspaper also maintains an online presence. History The ''Peabody Gazett ...

(Kansas)

Michigan

The Holland Sentinel ''The Holland Sentinel'' is a newspaper published seven days a week in Holland, Michigan, United States, founded in 1896. It is published by Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Vi ...

(Michigan) * Hillsdale Daily News (Michigan)

Minnesota

Brainerd Dispatch The ''Brainerd Dispatch'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Brainerd, Minnesota. The newspaper was founded on December 22, 1881, and became a daily paper in 1883. In April 2004, the Dispatch became a morning paper. In July 2020, the public ...

(Minnesota)

Missouri

* The Examiner (Missouri) (Missouri) * Maryville Daily Forum (Missouri) * Hannibal Courier-Post (Missouri)

Nebraska

Grand Island Independent ''The Grand Island Independent'' is a newspaper published in Grand Island, Nebraska. The ''Independent'' is published seven days a week but does not produce a newspaper on Christmas Day. Its daily circulation is 20,500, in eleven counties of cent ...

(Nebraska) *

York News-Times The ''York News-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in York, Nebraska. It is the newspaper of record for York County and surrounding counties in the Rainwater Basin region. Part of Berkshire Hathaway's BH Media Group, the ''News-Times'' is p ...

(Nebraska) *

Beatrice Daily Sun Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporate ...

(Nebraska)

Oklahoma

* The Shawnee News-Star (Oklahoma) * The Ardmoreite (Oklahoma)

South Dakota

* The Brookings Register (South Dakota) * Yankton Press & Dakotan (South Dakota)

Tennessee

The Oak Ridger ''The Oak Ridger'' is an American daily newspaper published Mondays through Fridays in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It is owned by Gannett. Its editor and publisher is Darrell Richardson. ''The Oak Ridger'' was established in 1949 by Alfred and Julia H ...

(Tennessee)

Radio

KRNT KRNT (1350 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Serving the Des Moines, Iowa, United States, area, the station is owned by the Des Moines Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications through licensee Saga Communications of Iowa ...

(Iowa) * KRNQ-FM (Iowa)

Television

KGWN-TV KGWN-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios on East Lincolnway/East 14th Street/ I-80 BUS/ US 30 in Ch ...

, Cheyenne, Wyoming * KMIZ, Columbia, Missouri *

, Topeka *

KCOY-TV KCOY-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Santa Maria, California, United States, serving the Central Coast of California as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Dabl. It is owned by VistaWest Media, LLC, which maintains a ...

, Santa Maria, California * KGNC-TV, Amarillo, Texas *

KGWC-TV KGWC-TV (channel 14) is a television station in Casper, Wyoming, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Big Horn Television Limited liability company, LLC, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Coastal Television Bro ...

, Casper, Wyoming

References

{{reflist Companies based in Topeka, Kansas Mass media companies disestablished in 1995 Defunct companies based in Kansas Defunct broadcasting companies of the United States Defunct mass media companies of the United States 1930 establishments in Kansas Mass media companies established in 1930 American companies established in 1930