The Willits News
| Type | Twice weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Digital First Media |
| Editor | Aura Whittaker |
| Founded | 1903 |
| Language | English |
| City | Willits, California |
| Country | United States |
| Sister newspapers | Ukiah Daily Journal |
| OCLC number | 35303427 |
| Website | willitsnews |
The Willits News is a twice weekly newspaper covering Willits, California and northern Mendocino County. It has been reporting on the community since 1903. It operates out of the offices of the Ukiah Daily Journal.[1]
History
The Willits News was founded in March 1892. It was owned by L. Kentworthy along with H.F. and A.L. Finnell. Kentworthy served as its first editor and manager.[2]
In November 1947, Albert C.Hammond sold the paper to Troy L. Maness[3] Hammond died a year later.[4] In April 1959, Robert F. Gerber, owner of the Ukiah News, Noyo News and Paul Bunyan News in Fort Bragg, purchased the Willits News from Troy Maness and Lee Kentworthy. The Noyo News was absorbed into the Willits News and Joseph C. Murphy was hired as editor.[5] In October 1960, Gerber and Ben A. Cober, owner of the Ukiah Daily Journal, merged their businesses together.[6]
In April 1968, the paper's editor Paul Alan Davis was hospitalized after his pickup crashed and flipped several times.[7] A month later The News and Journal were sold by Cober and Gerber to the newly formed Mendocino Publishing Company, with Malcolm D. Glover, of Ventura as its presidents. At the time the weekly News had 2,000 circulation and the daily Journal had a 5,000 circulation.[8] In 1973, Glover sold the News to a group of Willits residents who formed The Willits News, Inc., with Albert B. Canepa as its president.[9]
In 1994, Times Publishing Company, owner of the Erie Times-News acquired the News and laid off all 20 employees.[10] In 2001, the company sold the paper, along with the Lake County Record-Bee and Clear Lake Observer-American to the California Newspaper Partnership, managed by the MediaNews Group. The new owners also published the nearby Ukiah Daily Journal.[11] MediaNews Group is a subsidiary of Alden Global Capital.[1][12]
References
- ^ a b "Contact Us". Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ "Notice". Republican Press. Ukiah, California. March 4, 1892. p. 2.
- ^ "Willits News Changes Hands". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, California. November 30, 1947. p. 3.
- ^ "Retired Publisher Dies In Hospital". Ukiah Dispatch Democrat. Ukiah, California. September 3, 1948. p. 1.
- ^ "Ukiah Publisher Purchases Willits News; To Merge With Willits Nyo News". Mendocino Coast Beacon. Mendocino, California. April 3, 1959. p. 1.
- ^ "Merger Papers Signed". Ukiah Daily Journal. Ukiah, California. October 3, 1960. p. 1.
- ^ "Mishap Hospitalizes Willits News Editor". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. April 12, 1968. p. 14.
- ^ "Ukiah, Willits Papers Sold To Ventura Man". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, California. May 8, 1968. p. 21.
- ^ "Medno Publishing Co. sells Willits News". Ukiah Daily Journal. Ukiah, California. May 1, 1973. p. 3.
- ^ Meadows, K.C. (September 21, 1994). "Willits News Sold | Employee status uncertain". Ukiah Daily Journal. Ukiah, California. p. 1.
- ^ "Willits Lake Co. papers sold | MediaNews adds to California Newspaper Partnership". Ukiah Daily Journal. Ukiah, California. January 28, 2001. p. 1.
- ^ Folkenflik, David (May 21, 2021). "'Vulture' Fund Alden Global, Known For Slashing Newsrooms, Buys Tribune Papers". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
External links