Knight Ridder: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|American media company}}
{{short description|American media company}}
{{Distinguish|Knight Rider (disambiguation){{!}}Knight Rider|Night Rider (disambiguation){{!}}Night Rider}}
{{Distinguish|Knight Rider (disambiguation){{!}}Knight Rider|Night Rider (disambiguation){{!}}Night Rider}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2007}}
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
| name = Knight Ridder
| name = Knight Ridder
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| image_caption = The Knight Ridder building in [[San Jose, California]].
| image_caption = The Knight Ridder building in [[San Jose, California]].
| industry = [[Mass media]]
| industry = [[Mass media]]
| fate = Purchased by The [[McClatchy]] Company
| fate = Purchased by [[The McClatchy Company]]
| predecessor = {{ubl|Knight Newspapers, Inc.|Ridder Publications, Inc.}}
| predecessor = {{ubl|Knight Newspapers, Inc.|Ridder Publications, Inc.}}
| successor = The [[McClatchy]] Company
| successor = [[McClatchy]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1974|07|11}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|1974|07|11}}
| founder = {{ubl|[[John S. Knight]]|[[Herman Ridder]]}}
| founder = {{ubl|[[John S. Knight]]|[[Herman Ridder]]}}
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==History==
==History==
===Origins===
===Origins===
The corporate ancestors of Knight Ridder were Knight Newspapers, Inc. and Ridder Publications, Inc. The first company was founded by [[John S. Knight]] upon inheriting control of the ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]]'' from his father, [[Charles Landon Knight]], in 1933; the second company was founded by [[Herman Ridder]] when he acquired the {{lang|de|[[New Yorker Staats-Zeitung]]|italic=yes}}, a [[German language]] newspaper, in 1892. As [[anti-German sentiment]] increased in the [[interwar period]], Ridder successfully transitioned into English language publishing by acquiring ''[[The Journal of Commerce]]'' in 1926.


Both companies went public in 1969 and merged on July 11, 1974. For a brief time, the combined company was the largest newspaper publisher in the United States.
==== Ridder Publications Inc. ====
In 1890, [[Herman Ridder]] became trustee, treasurer and manager of ''[[New Yorker Staats-Zeitung]]'', a [[German language]] newspaper.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 16, 1905 |title="Staats" Is The Greatest German-American Paper. |work=Brooklyn Eagle |page=40}}</ref> Ridder came to own the paper and died in 1915. He was succeeded by his eldest son [[Bernard H. Ridder]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 2, 1915 |title=Herman Ridder, Editor, Is Dead {{!}} Staats-Zeitung Publisher Expires Suddenly from Arterial Sclerosis at His Home. |work=The New York Times |page=11}}</ref> B.H. Ridder and his two brothers, [[Joseph E. Ridder]] and [[Victor F. Ridder]], bought rival German-language paper ''New Yorker Herald'' in November 1919.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 14, 1919 |title="Staats Zeitung" Buys "New Yorker Herold" {{!}} German-Language Papers in City Are Reduced by Transaction |work=New-York Tribune |page=22}}</ref>  Sixes years later the Ridder family began publishing [[English language]] when they acquired the ''[[Long Island Daily Press]]'' in December 1926,<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 3, 1926 |title=Staats-Zeitung Buys L.I. Daily Press |work=Brooklyn Eagle |page=24}}</ref> followed by ''[[The Journal of Commerce]]'' and ''New York Commercial'' for $2.85 million in January 1927.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 1, 1927 |title=Ridders Merge 2 Journals Of Commerce Here |work=Daily News |location=New York City, New York |page=66}}</ref>


===At its peak===
The Ridders purchased the ''[[St. Paul Pioneer Press]]'' and ''[[Saint Paul Dispatch]]'' in August 1927,<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 14, 1927 |title=Eastern Men Buy Dispatch, Pioneer Press |work=Star Tribune |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |page=1}}</ref> acquired an interest in the ''[[Aberdeen American News]]'' in August 1928,<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1928 |title=St. Paul Group Buys Paper at Aberdeen, S.D. |work=Star Tribune |page=6}}</ref> followed by the ''[[Grand Forks Herald]]'' in June 1929,<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 16, 1929 |title=Grand Forks Herald Sold To M.M. Oppegard Of St. Paul |work=Grand Forks Herald |page=11}}</ref> and bought a 40% stake in [[The Seattle Times Company]] in January 1930.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 5, 1930 |title=Buy Share In Seattle Times {{!}} Ridder Brothers Acquire 40 Percent Interest. |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |page=2}}</ref>  They sold the ''Long Island Daily Press'' to [[Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr.]] in 1932.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 1, 1956 |title=Today Is Our Birthday! Press Is 135 Years Old |work=Long Island Daily Press}}</ref> Ridder acquired the ''Duluth News Tribune'' in 1936,<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 24, 1936 |title=Announcement |work=The Duluth News Tribune |page=1}}</ref> the ''[[San Jose Mercury News]]'' in July 1952,<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 26, 1952 |title=San Jose News, Mercury Sold To Ridder Group |work=Record Searchlight |location=Redding, California |page=5 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> the ''[[Long Beach Press-Telegram]]'' in August 1952,<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 10, 1952 |title=Ridders Buy Long Beach Newspapers {{!}} Prisk Interests Unaffected In Pasadena |work=Pasadena Star-News |page=1}}</ref> sold the ''[[New Yorker Staats-Zeitung]]'' in 1953,<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 30, 1953 |title=Ridders Sell N.Y. Publication |work=The Duluth News-Tribune |page=9}}</ref> purchased the ''[[Gary Post-Tribune]]'' in August 1966,<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 24, 1966 |title=Gary Post-Tribune Sold To Ridder Chain |work=Tampa Bay Times |pages=4 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> and ''[[Daily Camera]]'' in April 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 10, 1969 |title=Ridder Purchases Boulder Daily Paper |work=The Missoulian |pages=23 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
Knight Ridder had a long history of innovation in [[technology]]. It was the first newspaper publisher to experiment with [[videotex]] when it launched its [[Viewtron]] system in 1983. After investing six years of research and $50 million into the service, Knight Ridder shut down Viewtron in 1986 when the service's interactivity features proved more popular than news delivery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/17740/viewtron-remembered-roundtable/|title=Viewtron Remembered Roundtable|access-date=October 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020132828/http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/17740/viewtron-remembered-roundtable/|archive-date=October 20, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>


Knight-Ridder purchased Dialog Information Services Inc. from [[Lockheed Corporation]] in August 1988. In October 1988, the company placed its eight broadcast television stations up for sale to reduce debt and to pay for the purchase of Dialog.<ref name=ap>{{cite news|title=Knight-Ridder Puts 8 TV Stations on Block to Reduce $929-Million Debt|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-04-fi-3435-story.html|access-date=January 26, 2016|work=Los Angeles Times|agency=AP|date=October 4, 1988}}</ref>
In September 1969, company president Herman Henry "Hank" Ridder died.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 16, 1969 |title=Ridder Publications President Dies At 61 |work=The Register |location=Santa Ana, California |page=13 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> In November 1969, the company went public. At that time it was the eighth largest newspaper chain in the country in terms of circulation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 19, 1969 |title=Ridder chain to offer stock for public sale |work=The Peninsula Times Tribune |location=Palo Alto, California |pages=11}}</ref> In May 1973, Ridder acquired the ''[[Wichita Eagle-Beacon]]'' for $40.5 million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 2, 1973 |title=Ridder Acquires Wichita Eagle |work=Oakland Tribune |page=12}}</ref>


In 1997, when Tony Ridder was CEO, it bought four newspapers from [[The Walt Disney Company]] formerly owned by [[Capital Cities/ABC Inc.|Capital Cities Communications]], after Disney's purchase of Cap Cities mainly for the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television network ([[The Kansas City Star|The ''Kansas City Star'']], ''[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]'', ''[[Belleville News-Democrat]]'' and ''[[Times Leader|(Wilkes-Barre) Times Leader]]'' for $1.65 billion. It was, at the time, the most expensive newspaper acquisition in history.
==== Knight Newspapers Inc. ====
In October 1903, [[Charles Landon Knight]] became a co-owner of the ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]]'' and assumed full control in June 1909. He died in September 1933 and the paper was inherited by his eldest son [[John S. Knight]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 27, 1933 |title=The Life Story Of Charles Landon Knight {{!}} Beacon Journal Publisher's Complete Biography; Editorials Reprinted |work=The Akron Beacon Journal |page=14}}</ref> Knight acquired the ''[[Miami Herald]]'' in 1937,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 18, 1937 |title=Miami Herald Sold To Knight |work=The Lima News |page=12 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'' in 1940,<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 1, 1940 |title=John S. Knight Buys Detroit Free Press |work=Corpus Christi Times |pages=13 |agency=United Press}}</ref> and ''[[Chicago Daily News]]'' in 1944.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 18, 1944 |title=Knight Newspapers Buy Daily News |work=The Ithaca Journal |page=13 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Knight bought ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]'' for $7 million in December 1954,<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 30, 1954 |title=Charlotte Observer Sold. {{!}} Knight Newspapers Buy Paper for 7 Million Dollars. |work=The Kansas City Times |page=2 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> the ''[[Florida Keys Keynoter]]'' in 1956,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kahn |first=Larry |last2=Wadlow |first2=Kevin |date=March 24, 2018 |title=For decades, 'Keynoter' documented the Keys |work=Florida Keys Keynoter |pages=A1}}</ref> and sold the ''Daily News'' in January 1959.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 6, 1959 |title=Field Gains Control Of 2nd Chicago Newspaper |work=The Houston Post |page=8 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> Knight bought ''[[The Charlotte News]]'' in April 1959,<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 6, 1959 |title=Charlotte Paper Bought by Knight |work=The Evening Review |location=East Liverpool, Ohio |page=18 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> followed by three Georgia papers in February 1969. That sale included ''[[The Macon Telegraph]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 26, 1969 |title=3 Georgia Papers Bought by Knight |work=Tallahassee Democrat |page=2 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> 


For most of its existence, the company was based in Miami, with headquarters on the top floor of the Miami Herald building. In 1998, Knight Ridder relocated its headquarters from Miami to San Jose, Calif.; there, that city's ''[[The Mercury News|Mercury News]]''—the first daily newspaper to regularly publish its full content online—was booming along with the rest of Silicon Valley. The internet division had been established there three years earlier. The company rented several floors in a downtown high-rise as its new corporate base.
In March 1969, Knight went public, leaving the Knight family with about 59% of outstanding stock. John S. Knight and his brother James sold $30 million of their holdings in the company.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 21, 1969 |title=Knight Papers To Offer 950,000 Shares To Public |work=The Miami News |pages=11}}</ref> In September 1969, Knight acquired the ''[[Boca Raton News]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 18, 1969 |title=Knight Buys Boca Raton News |work=The Miami Herald |page=42}}</ref> In October 1969, Knight bought ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' and ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]'' for $55 million. The deal boosted Knight from the fifth to the third largest newspaper chain in the United States in terms of circulation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 29, 1969 |title=Philadelphia Inquirer, News Bought by Knight |work=Winston-Salem Journal |page=2 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> In August 1973, Knight acquired the ''[[Lexington Herald-Leader]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 17, 1973 |title=Lexington Papers Bought by Knight |work=The Macon News |location=Macon, Georgia |page=2}}</ref> In September 1973, Knight purchased R.W. Page Corp. The sale included the ''[[Columbus Ledger-Enquirer]]'' and ''[[The Bradenton Herald]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 22, 1973 |title=Columbus Papers Are Sold |work=Alabama Journal |page=9 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>


In November 2005, the company announced plans for "strategic initiatives," which involved the possible sale of the company. This came after three major institutional shareholders publicly urged management to put the company up for sale. At the time, the company had a higher [[profit margin]] than many Fortune 500 companies, including [[ExxonMobil]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/business/yourmoney/27knight.htm?pagewanted=all] {{dead link|date=September 2019}}</ref>
==== Merger ====
On July 11, 1974, Knight Newspapers and Ridder Publications agreed to merge. The newly formed group would own 35 newspapers with a combined daily circulation of 3.6 million. At the time [[Gannett]] owned 54 papers with a combined daily circulation of 2.3 million. So the deal would make the combined Knight Ridder the second largest newspaper chain in the United States in terms of number of papers owned, and the largest in terms of circulation. The plan called for both partners to divest from radio and television.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 11, 1974 |title=Knight, Ridder Agree To Merge |work=The Macon News |location=Macon, Georgia |page=22 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>  


====Iraq War====
Stockholders approved the deal that November. Annual revenue for the newly combined firm was expected to be $550 million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 21, 1974 |title=Stockholders OK Merger OF Knight, Ridder Papers |work=The Wichita Eagle |location=Wichita, Kansas |page=6}}</ref> The new name was Knight-Ridder Newspapers Inc. Lee Hills was elected board chairman and CEO. [[Alvah Chapman Jr.]] was elected president. Bernard H. Ridder Jr. became vice chairman. [[John S. Knight]] became editorial chairman as well as a board member.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 8, 1974 |title=Knight-Ridder Officers Named, Dividend Declared |work=The Wichita Beacon |location=Wichita, Kansas |page=31}}</ref>
In the run-up to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], Knight Ridder DC Bureau reporters Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel wrote a series of articles critical of purported intelligence suggesting links between [[Saddam Hussein]], the obtainment of [[weapons of mass destruction]], and [[Al-Qaeda]], citing anonymous sources.


Landay and Strobel's stories ran counter to reports by ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and other national publications, resulting in some newspapers within the Knight-Ridder chain refusing to run the two reporters' stories. After the war and the discrediting of many initial news reports written and carried by others, Strobel and Landay received the [[Raymond Clapper Memorial Award]] from the Senate Press Gallery on February 5, 2004, for their coverage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/iraq-coverage-awards-for-kr-upi/|title=Iraq-Coverage Awards for KR, UPI – Editor & Publisher|last=Astor|first=David|website=Editorandpublisher.com|language=en-US|access-date=April 5, 2019|archive-date=March 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304162555/https://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/iraq-coverage-awards-for-kr-upi/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Post-merger ===
Knight Ridder acquired the ''[[Centre Daily Times]]'' in August 1979,<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 8, 1979 |title=Centre Daily News Sold To Knight-Ridder |work=The Gettysburg Times |pages=11}}</ref> and the ''[[Fort Wayne News-Sentinel]]'' in February 1980.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 21, 1980 |title=Knight-Ridder Acquires Fort Wayne, Ind., Paper |work=The Macon Telegraph |pages=40}}</ref> Knight Ridder became the first newspaper publisher to experiment with [[videotex]] when it launched its [[Viewtron]] system in 1983. After investing six years of research and $50 million into the service, Knight Ridder shut down Viewtron in 1986 when the service's interactivity features proved more popular than news delivery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/17740/viewtron-remembered-roundtable/|title=Viewtron Remembered Roundtable|access-date=October 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020132828/http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/17740/viewtron-remembered-roundtable/|archive-date=October 20, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>


The ''[[Huffington Post]]'' headlined the two as "the reporting team that got Iraq right".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-reporting-team-that-g_n_91981|title=The Reporting Team That Got Iraq Right|last=Follmer|first=Max|date=March 28, 2008|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref> The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' described the reporting as "unequaled by the Bigfoots working at higher-visibility outlets such as the ''New York Times'', the ''Washington Post'', the ''Wall Street Journal'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/politics/knightridder_scores_again.php |date=January 19, 2005 |first1=Susan Q. |last1=Stranahan |title=Knight-Ridder Scores (Again)|website=Columbia Journalism Review |access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref>
In December 1986, Knight Ridder purchased The State-Record Company for $311 million. The sale included six dailies and two weeklies: [[The State (newspaper)|''The State'']] of Columbia, ''[[The Columbia Record]]'', ''[[Myrtle Beach Sun News]]'', ''[[Biloxi Sun-Herald]]'', ''[[Daily Times Leader]]'' of West Point, and ''Starkville Daily News''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=LeBlanc |first=Clif |date=December 17, 1986 |title=State-Record sale is official {{!}} Shareholders OK purchase by Knight-Ridder |work=The Columbia Record |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 28, 1986 |title=Knight-Ridder to buy State-Record - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/10/28/Knight-Ridder-to-buy-State-Record/3847530859600/ |access-date=2025-11-27 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> In August 1988, Knight Ridder purchased Dialog Information Services Inc. from [[Lockheed Corporation]]. In October 1988, the company placed its eight broadcast television stations up for sale to reduce debt and to pay for the purchase of Dialog.<ref name="ap">{{cite news|title=Knight-Ridder Puts 8 TV Stations on Block to Reduce $929-Million Debt|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-04-fi-3435-story.html|access-date=January 26, 2016|work=Los Angeles Times|agency=AP|date=October 4, 1988}}</ref> In February 1995, Knight Ridder sold ''[[The Journal of Commerce]]'' to [[The Economist Group]] for $115 million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 10, 1995 |title=Journal of Commerce being sold |work=Chicago Tribune |pages=197}}</ref>


Later after the war, their work was featured in [[Bill Moyers]]' PBS documentary "Buying The War"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html|title=Bill Moyers Journal . Buying the War. Watch the Show |website=PBS |access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref> and was dramatized in the 2017 film ''[[Shock and Awe (film)|Shock and Awe]]''.
In August 1995, Knight Ridder bought [[Lesher Communications]], publisher of the ''[[Contra Costa Times]]'', for $360 million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hall |first=Carl T. |last2=Hallissy |first2=Erin |date=August 29, 1995 |title=East Bay Newspaper Chain Sold {{!}} Knight-Ridder buys Contra Costa Times |work=San Francisco Chronicle |pages=1}}</ref> In April 1997, Knight Ridder bought [[The Kansas City Star|The ''Kansas City Star'']], ''[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]'', ''[[Belleville News-Democrat]]'' and ''[[Wilkes-Barre Times Leader]]'' for $1.65 billion from [[The Walt Disney Company]], who recently acquired them from [[Capital Cities/ABC Inc.|Capital Cities Communications]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 5, 1997 |title=Knight-Ridder buys 4 papers {{!}} Disney deal includes Kansas City Star |work=The Cincinnati Post |page=18}}</ref> In July 1997, Knight Ridder traded the ''[[Boulder Daily Camera]]'' to [[E. W. Scripps Company]] in exchange for ''[[The Monterey County Herald]]'' and ''[[San Luis Obispo Tribune]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Lyons |first=Silas |date=July 26, 1997 |title=T-T changing owners in 5-paper deal |work=The Tribune |location=San Luis Obispo, California |page=1}}</ref> In October 1997, Knight Ridder sold the ''[[Boca Raton News]]'' to [[Community Newspaper Holdings]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 31, 1997 |title=Boca Raton News Sold {{!}} Buyer emphasizes 'community' |work=Boca Raton News |pages=3}}</ref> In November 1997, Knight Ridder sold the ''[[Long Beach Press-Telegram]]'' to Garden State Newspapers Inc., an affiliate [[MediaNews Group]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1997 |title=Press-Telegram Sold To Garden State Newspapers |work=The Los Angeles Times |page=158}}</ref>
 
In April 1998, Knight Ridder announced it will relocate its headquarters from Miami, Florida to San Jose, California. The goal was to change it's public image from a traditional newspaper company to a high-technology information provider.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=April 29, 1998 |title=Knight Ridder Relocating to Silicon Valley |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-29-fi-44029-story.html |access-date=2025-11-27 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> In February 1998, the company sold the ''[[Gary Post-Tribune]]'' to [[Hollinger International, Inc.]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 4, 1998 |title=Knight Ridder completes sale of Gary paper |work=The South Bend Tribune |pages=22}}</ref> In April 2000, Knight Ridder purchased ''[[The Olathe News]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Whitaker |first=Shane |date=April 1, 2000 |title=Sale of Daily News becomes official {{!}} New owner expects few changes |work=Olathe News |pages=1}}</ref>
 
====Iraq War coverage====
In the run-up to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], Knight Ridder DC Bureau reporters Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel wrote a series of articles critical of  intelligence suggesting links between [[Saddam Hussein]], the obtainment of [[weapons of mass destruction]], and [[Al-Qaeda]], citing anonymous sources. Landay and Strobel's stories ran counter to reports by ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and other national publications, resulting in some newspapers within the Knight-Ridder chain refusing to run the two reporters' stories, with some choosing to substitute coverage from ''The Times''.<ref>Walcott, John. [https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iraq/journalism-press-failed-iraq-walcott "Why the Press Failed on Iraq; And How One Team of Reporters Got It Right"], ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'', March 19, 2023. Accessed November 27, 2025. "Our reporting might have been getting under officials’ skin, but it did not slow the administration’s march to war. Some Knight Ridder papers even ignored what their own Washington bureau was writing and instead printed New York Times stories (which the paper later admitted were wrong)."</ref>
 
After the war and the discrediting of many initial news reports written and carried by others, Strobel and Landay received the [[Raymond Clapper Memorial Award]] from the Senate Press Gallery in 2004, for their coverage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Astor |first=David |date=February 5, 2004 |title=Iraq-Coverage Awards for KR, UPI |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/iraq-coverage-awards-for-kr-upi/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304162555/https://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/iraq-coverage-awards-for-kr-upi/ |archive-date=March 4, 2020 |access-date=April 5, 2019 |website=Editor & Publisher |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
The ''[[Huffington Post]]'' headlined the two as "the reporting team that got Iraq right".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-reporting-team-that-g_n_91981|title=The Reporting Team That Got Iraq Right|last=Follmer|first=Max|date=March 28, 2008|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref> The ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'' described the reporting as "unequaled by the Bigfoots working at higher-visibility outlets such as the ''New York Times'', the ''Washington Post'', the ''Wall Street Journal'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/politics/knightridder_scores_again.php |date=January 19, 2005 |first1=Susan Q. |last1=Stranahan |title=Knight-Ridder Scores (Again)|website=Columbia Journalism Review |access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref>
 
Later after the war, their work was featured in [[Bill Moyers]]' PBS documentary "Buying The War"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html|title=Bill Moyers Journal . Buying the War. Watch the Show |website=PBS |access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref> and was dramatized in [[Rob Reiner]]'s 2017 film ''[[Shock and Awe (film)|Shock and Awe]]''.<ref>Fear, David. [https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/shock-and-awe-movie-review-698442/ "‘Shock and Awe’ Review: Journalistic Drama Is No ‘All the President’s Men’"], ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', July 13, 2018. Accessed November 27, 2025. "The idea that someone would make a movie about Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay, the Knight-Ridder reporters who questioned the Bush’s administration rush to war in Iraq after 9/11, is both bold counterprogramming and a necessary corrective – these men should be household names a la Woodward and Bernstein."</ref>


===Purchase by McClatchy===
===Purchase by McClatchy===
On March 13, 2006, [[The McClatchy Company]] announced its agreement to purchase Knight Ridder for a purchase price of $6.5 billion in cash, stock and debt.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchy.com/news/2006/story/7528982p-7440749c.html |title=McClatchy to Acquire Knight Ridder - Becomes Country's Second Largest Newspaper Publisher |date=March 13, 2006 |website=mcclatchy.com |access-date=April 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060409062127/http://www.mcclatchy.com/news/2006/story/7528982p-7440749c.html |archive-date=April 9, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The deal gave McClatchy 32 daily newspapers in 29 markets, with a total circulation of 3.3 million. However, for various reasons, McClatchy decided immediately to resell twelve of these papers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/business/media/newspaper-chain-agrees-to-a-sale-for-45-billion.html |url-access=subscription |title=Newspaper Chain Agrees to a Sale for $4.5 Billion|last=Seelye|first=Katharine Q.|date=March 13, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 17, 2019|last2=Sorkin|first2=Andrew Ross|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|author-link2=Andrew Ross Sorkin}}</ref>
In February 2005, Knight Ridder purchased the ''[[Palo Alto Daily News]]'' and its four sibling publications.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 16, 2005 |title=Chain buys 5 small dailies {{!}} 125 on combined staff won't lose jobs, Knight Ridder says |work=San Francisco Chronicle |pages=25}}</ref> In August 2005, Knight Ridder sold the ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'' and ''[[Tallahassee Democrat]]'' to [[Gannett]]. In return, the company acquired the ''[[Idaho Statesman]]'', ''[[The Bellingham Herald]]'' and ''[[The Olympian]].''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Porretto |first=John |date=August 4, 2005 |title=Several Knight Ridder, Gannett newspapers to change hands |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |page=37 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
 
In November 2005, the Knight Ridder announced plans for "strategic initiatives," which involved the possible sale of the company. This came after three major institutional shareholders publicly urged management to put the company up for sale. At the time, the company had a higher [[profit margin]] than many Fortune 500 companies, including [[ExxonMobil]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/business/yourmoney/27knight.htm?pagewanted=all] {{dead link|date=September 2019}}</ref> On March 13, 2006, [[The McClatchy Company]] announced its agreement to purchase Knight Ridder for a purchase price of $6.5 billion in cash, stock and debt.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchy.com/news/2006/story/7528982p-7440749c.html |title=McClatchy to Acquire Knight Ridder - Becomes Country's Second Largest Newspaper Publisher |date=March 13, 2006 |website=mcclatchy.com |access-date=April 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060409062127/http://www.mcclatchy.com/news/2006/story/7528982p-7440749c.html |archive-date=April 9, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The deal gave McClatchy 32 daily newspapers in 29 markets, with a total circulation of 3.3 million. However, for various reasons, McClatchy decided immediately to resell twelve of these papers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/business/media/newspaper-chain-agrees-to-a-sale-for-45-billion.html |url-access=subscription |title=Newspaper Chain Agrees to a Sale for $4.5 Billion|last=Seelye|first=Katharine Q.|date=March 13, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 17, 2019|last2=Sorkin|first2=Andrew Ross|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|author-link2=Andrew Ross Sorkin}}</ref>  


On April 26, 2006, McClatchy announced it was selling the ''San Jose Mercury News'', ''Contra Costa Times'', ''Monterey Herald'', and ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' to [[Digital First Media|MediaNews Group]] (with backing from the [[Hearst Communications|Hearst Corporation]]) for $1 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.medianewsgroup.com/companynews/2006/McClatch%20MNG%20Release.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060526083950/http://www.medianewsgroup.com/companynews/2006/McClatch%20MNG%20Release.pdf|url-status=dead|title=McClatchy to Sell Four Knight Ridder Newspapers for $1 Billion |publisher=MediaNews Group, Inc. |date=April 26, 2006 |archive-date=May 26, 2006}}</ref>
The accumulative sale price $2.078 billion. The ''[[San Jose Mercury]]'' and ''[[Contra Costa Times]]'' went to [[Bay Area News Group]], co-owned by [[MediaNews]]. The ''[[St. Paul Pioneer Press]]'' and ''[[The Monterey County Herald]]'' went to [[Hearst Communications]], who agreed to later resell them to [[MediaNews]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Carey |first=Pete |date=August 3, 2006 |title=Sales of 12 former Knight Ridder papers closed |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |page=18}}</ref> ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' and ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]'' went to [[Philadelphia Media Holdings]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yao |first=Deborah |date=May 24, 2006 |title=McClatchy sells Philadelphia newspapers {{!}} Inquirer and Daily News net $562 million |work=Intelligencer Journal |location=Lancaster, Pennsylvania |page=20}}</ref>  The ''[[Akron Beacon Journal]]'' went to [[Black Press Media]], ''[[The News-Sentinel]]'' went to [[Ogden Newspapers]], the ''[[Duluth News Tribune]]'' went to [[Forum Communications Company]], and ''[[Aberdeen American News]]'' went to [[Schurz Communications]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 13, 2006 |title=McClatchy releases sale prices of five former KR papers |work=Citizens' Voice |location=Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania |page=A24 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Finally, the ''[[Wilkes-Barre Times Leader]]'' was sold to private investors in June 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rubinkam |first=Michale |date=June 27, 2006 |title=McClatchy sells last Knight Ridder paper {{!}} Wilkes-Barre's Times Leader sold to private investors. |work=The Evening Sun |location=Hanover, Pennsylvania |pages=8 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>


==List of newspapers==
==List of newspapers==
Line 105: Line 119:
* Vu/Text: 1982–1996. Merged with PressLink to become MediaStream.
* Vu/Text: 1982–1996. Merged with PressLink to become MediaStream.
* PressLink: ??–1996. Merged with Vu/Text to become MediaStream.
* PressLink: ??–1996. Merged with Vu/Text to become MediaStream.
* MediaStream: 1996–2001. Acquired by [[NewsBank]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hane |first=Paula J. |date=February 5, 2001 |title=NewsBank Acquires MediaStream Businesses from Knight Ridder |url=http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb010205-1.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722221046/http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbreader.asp?ArticleID=17662 |archive-date=Jul 22, 2020 |website=Information Today}}</ref>
* MediaStream: 1996–2001. Acquired by [[NewsBank]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hane |first=Paula J. |date=February 5, 2001 |title=NewsBank Acquires MediaStream Businesses from Knight Ridder |url=https://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb010205-1.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722221046/http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbreader.asp?ArticleID=17662 |archive-date=Jul 22, 2020 |website=Information Today}}</ref>
* DataStar: Acquired from Radio Schweiz Ltd., merged with Dialog to form Knight Ridder Information
* DataStar: Acquired from Radio Schweiz Ltd., merged with Dialog to form Knight Ridder Information
* [[Dialog (online database)]]: Merged with DataStar to form Knight Ridder Information
* [[Dialog (online database)]]: Merged with DataStar to form Knight Ridder Information
* Knight Ridder Information: ??–1997, Acquired by MAID, later by Thomson
* Knight Ridder Information: ??–1997, Acquired by MAID, later by Thomson
* Knight Ridder Financial Inc: 1985<!--Buys MoneyCentre and renames it KRFI?? -->–1996. Acquired by Global Financial trading as [[Bridge Information Systems|Bridge Data]].
* Knight Ridder Financial Inc: 1985<!--Buys MoneyCentre and renames it KRFI?? -->–1996. Acquired by Global Financial trading as [[Bridge Information Systems|Bridge Data]].
* RealCities Network:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchy.com/2006/06/27/1619/the-real-cities-network.html |title=RealCities Network |website=The McClatchy Company |access-date=July 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813085701/http://www.mcclatchy.com/2006/06/27/1619/the-real-cities-network.html |archive-date=August 13, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 2004–2006. RealCities was a portal/hub website for Knight-Ridder group. It was absorbed with The McClatchy Company into McClatchy Interactive<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchyinteractive.com/ |title=McClatchy Interactive |access-date=July 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803143239/http://www.mcclatchyinteractive.com/ |archive-date=August 3, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and sold to Chicago-based Centro<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centro.net/about/ |title=Centro |publisher=Centro |date=January 18, 2018 |access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref> in 2008.
* RealCities Network:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchy.com/2006/06/27/1619/the-real-cities-network.html |title=RealCities Network |website=The McClatchy Company |access-date=July 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813085701/http://www.mcclatchy.com/2006/06/27/1619/the-real-cities-network.html |archive-date=August 13, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 2004–2006. RealCities was a portal/hub website for Knight-Ridder group. It was absorbed with The McClatchy Company into McClatchy Interactive<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchyinteractive.com/ |title=McClatchy Interactive |access-date=July 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803143239/http://www.mcclatchyinteractive.com/ |archive-date=August 3, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and sold to Chicago-based Centro<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.centro.net/about/ |title=Centro |publisher=Centro |date=January 18, 2018 |access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref> in 2008.


==Knight Ridder-owned television stations==
==Knight Ridder-owned television stations==
Knight Newspapers entered broadcasting in 1946 via the purchase of minority ownership stakes in [[WQAM]] in Miami, [[WIND (AM)|WIND]] in Chicago, and [[WAKR]] in Akron; all three stations were in markets served by a Knight newspaper.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1946/1946-02-04-BC.pdf|title=Knight Buys 42% WIND Stock From R.L. Atlass for $800,000|date=February 4, 1946|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=January 31, 2020|pages=17–74}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1945/1945-02-12-BC.pdf|title=Miami-Herald Buys WQAM; Newark News to Get WBYN|date=February 12, 1945|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=January 31, 2020|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1946/1946-04-15-BC.pdf|title=John S. Knight Buys 45% Interest in WAKR|date=April 15, 1946|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=January 31, 2020|page=30}}</ref> The minority stake in WAKR's parent company, Summit Radio, also included the establishment of [[WVPX-TV|WAKR-TV (channel 49)]], as well as [[WONE-FM|WAKR-FM (97.5)]] and six radio stations purchased in [[Dayton, Ohio]], [[Dallas]], Texas, and [[Denver]], Colorado.<ref name="Roger Berk Profile">{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1974/1974-02-25-BC.pdf|title=Profile: The low visibility of a highly involved broadcaster: Roger Berk|date=February 25, 1974|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=February 7, 2020|page=73}}</ref> WAKR-TV was built and signed on by Summit on July 23, 1953, as the Akron market's [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cullison|first=Art |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44314672/wakrtv_signs_with_abc/|title=WAKR-TV Signs With ABC|date=May 24, 1953|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|access-date=February 14, 2020|page=14-E}}</ref> moving to channel 23 on December 1, 1967.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39633956/the_akron_beacon_journal/|title=NEW TOWER OF POWER (Advertisement)|date=December 1, 1967|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|access-date=February 7, 2020|page=B8}}</ref> Knight Ridder divested its stake in Summit Radio by 1977;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1977/BC-1977-05-02.pdf|title=Closed Circuit: Monomedium|date=May 2, 1977|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=February 8, 2020|page=7}}</ref> a planned merger between the two entities in 1968 failed to be consummated.<ref name="WAKR 50th Anniversary">{{Cite news|last=Dyer|first=Bob |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43894748/wakr_has_50_years_under_its_belt_will/|title=WAKR has 50 years under its belt: Will past outshine future?|date=October 14, 1990|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|access-date=February 9, 2020|page=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43944936/ F5]}}</ref>
Knight Newspapers entered broadcasting in 1946 via the purchase of minority ownership stakes in [[WQAM]] in Miami, [[WIND (AM)|WIND]] in Chicago, and [[WAKR]] in Akron; all three stations were in markets served by a Knight newspaper.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1946/1946-02-04-BC.pdf|title=Knight Buys 42% WIND Stock From R.L. Atlass for $800,000|date=February 4, 1946|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=January 31, 2020|pages=17–74}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1945/1945-02-12-BC.pdf|title=Miami-Herald Buys WQAM; Newark News to Get WBYN|date=February 12, 1945|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=January 31, 2020|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1946/1946-04-15-BC.pdf|title=John S. Knight Buys 45% Interest in WAKR|date=April 15, 1946|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=January 31, 2020|page=30}}</ref> The minority stake in WAKR's parent company, Summit Radio, also included the establishment of [[WVPX-TV|WAKR-TV (channel 49)]], as well as [[WONE-FM|WAKR-FM (97.5)]] and six radio stations purchased in [[Dayton, Ohio]]; [[Dallas]], Texas; and [[Denver]], Colorado.<ref name="Roger Berk Profile">{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1974/1974-02-25-BC.pdf|title=Profile: The low visibility of a highly involved broadcaster: Roger Berk|date=February 25, 1974|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=February 7, 2020|page=73}}</ref> WAKR-TV was built and signed on by Summit on July 23, 1953, as the Akron market's [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cullison|first=Art |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44314672/wakrtv_signs_with_abc/|title=WAKR-TV Signs With ABC|date=May 24, 1953|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|access-date=February 14, 2020|page=14-E}}</ref> moving to channel 23 on December 1, 1967.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39633956/the_akron_beacon_journal/|title=NEW TOWER OF POWER (Advertisement)|date=December 1, 1967|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|access-date=February 7, 2020|page=B8}}</ref> Knight Ridder divested its stake in Summit Radio by 1977;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1977/BC-1977-05-02.pdf|title=Closed Circuit: Monomedium|date=May 2, 1977|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|access-date=February 8, 2020|page=7}}</ref> a planned merger between the two entities in 1968 failed to be consummated.<ref name="WAKR 50th Anniversary">{{Cite news|last=Dyer|first=Bob |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43894748/wakr_has_50_years_under_its_belt_will/|title=WAKR has 50 years under its belt: Will past outshine future?|date=October 14, 1990|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|access-date=February 9, 2020|page=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43944936/ F5]}}</ref>


In 1954, Ridder Newspapers launched [[KBJR-TV|WDSM-TV]] in [[Superior, Wisconsin|Superior]], [[Wisconsin]], serving the [[Duluth, Minnesota|Duluth]], [[Minnesota]] market. Initially a [[CBS]] affiliate, it switched to its present [[NBC]] affiliation a year and a half after the station's launch. It was spun off after Ridder's merger with Knight Newspapers, Inc.
In 1954, Ridder Newspapers launched [[KBJR-TV|WDSM-TV]] in [[Superior, Wisconsin|Superior]], [[Wisconsin]], serving the [[Duluth, Minnesota|Duluth]], [[Minnesota]] market. Initially a [[CBS]] affiliate, it switched to its present [[NBC]] affiliation a year and a half after the station's launch. It was spun off after Ridder's merger with Knight Newspapers, Inc.

Latest revision as of 03:40, 28 December 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Knight Ridder Template:IPAc-en was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. It was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, allowing the latter to become the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States at the time, with 32 daily newspaper brands sold. Its headquarters were located in San Jose, California.[1]

History

Origins

Ridder Publications Inc.

In 1890, Herman Ridder became trustee, treasurer and manager of New Yorker Staats-Zeitung, a German language newspaper.[2] Ridder came to own the paper and died in 1915. He was succeeded by his eldest son Bernard H. Ridder.[3] B.H. Ridder and his two brothers, Joseph E. Ridder and Victor F. Ridder, bought rival German-language paper New Yorker Herald in November 1919.[4] Sixes years later the Ridder family began publishing English language when they acquired the Long Island Daily Press in December 1926,[5] followed by The Journal of Commerce and New York Commercial for $2.85 million in January 1927.[6]

The Ridders purchased the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Saint Paul Dispatch in August 1927,[7] acquired an interest in the Aberdeen American News in August 1928,[8] followed by the Grand Forks Herald in June 1929,[9] and bought a 40% stake in The Seattle Times Company in January 1930.[10] They sold the Long Island Daily Press to Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr. in 1932.[11] Ridder acquired the Duluth News Tribune in 1936,[12] the San Jose Mercury News in July 1952,[13] the Long Beach Press-Telegram in August 1952,[14] sold the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung in 1953,[15] purchased the Gary Post-Tribune in August 1966,[16] and Daily Camera in April 1969.[17]

In September 1969, company president Herman Henry "Hank" Ridder died.[18] In November 1969, the company went public. At that time it was the eighth largest newspaper chain in the country in terms of circulation.[19] In May 1973, Ridder acquired the Wichita Eagle-Beacon for $40.5 million.[20]

Knight Newspapers Inc.

In October 1903, Charles Landon Knight became a co-owner of the Akron Beacon Journal and assumed full control in June 1909. He died in September 1933 and the paper was inherited by his eldest son John S. Knight.[21] Knight acquired the Miami Herald in 1937,[22] Detroit Free Press in 1940,[23] and Chicago Daily News in 1944.[24] Knight bought The Charlotte Observer for $7 million in December 1954,[25] the Florida Keys Keynoter in 1956,[26] and sold the Daily News in January 1959.[27] Knight bought The Charlotte News in April 1959,[28] followed by three Georgia papers in February 1969. That sale included The Macon Telegraph.[29]

In March 1969, Knight went public, leaving the Knight family with about 59% of outstanding stock. John S. Knight and his brother James sold $30 million of their holdings in the company.[30] In September 1969, Knight acquired the Boca Raton News.[31] In October 1969, Knight bought The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News for $55 million. The deal boosted Knight from the fifth to the third largest newspaper chain in the United States in terms of circulation.[32] In August 1973, Knight acquired the Lexington Herald-Leader.[33] In September 1973, Knight purchased R.W. Page Corp. The sale included the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and The Bradenton Herald.[34]

Merger

On July 11, 1974, Knight Newspapers and Ridder Publications agreed to merge. The newly formed group would own 35 newspapers with a combined daily circulation of 3.6 million. At the time Gannett owned 54 papers with a combined daily circulation of 2.3 million. So the deal would make the combined Knight Ridder the second largest newspaper chain in the United States in terms of number of papers owned, and the largest in terms of circulation. The plan called for both partners to divest from radio and television.[35]

Stockholders approved the deal that November. Annual revenue for the newly combined firm was expected to be $550 million.[36] The new name was Knight-Ridder Newspapers Inc. Lee Hills was elected board chairman and CEO. Alvah Chapman Jr. was elected president. Bernard H. Ridder Jr. became vice chairman. John S. Knight became editorial chairman as well as a board member.[37]

Post-merger

Knight Ridder acquired the Centre Daily Times in August 1979,[38] and the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel in February 1980.[39] Knight Ridder became the first newspaper publisher to experiment with videotex when it launched its Viewtron system in 1983. After investing six years of research and $50 million into the service, Knight Ridder shut down Viewtron in 1986 when the service's interactivity features proved more popular than news delivery.[40]

In December 1986, Knight Ridder purchased The State-Record Company for $311 million. The sale included six dailies and two weeklies: The State of Columbia, The Columbia Record, Myrtle Beach Sun News, Biloxi Sun-Herald, Daily Times Leader of West Point, and Starkville Daily News.[41][42] In August 1988, Knight Ridder purchased Dialog Information Services Inc. from Lockheed Corporation. In October 1988, the company placed its eight broadcast television stations up for sale to reduce debt and to pay for the purchase of Dialog.[43] In February 1995, Knight Ridder sold The Journal of Commerce to The Economist Group for $115 million.[44]

In August 1995, Knight Ridder bought Lesher Communications, publisher of the Contra Costa Times, for $360 million.[45] In April 1997, Knight Ridder bought The Kansas City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Belleville News-Democrat and Wilkes-Barre Times Leader for $1.65 billion from The Walt Disney Company, who recently acquired them from Capital Cities Communications.[46] In July 1997, Knight Ridder traded the Boulder Daily Camera to E. W. Scripps Company in exchange for The Monterey County Herald and San Luis Obispo Tribune.[47] In October 1997, Knight Ridder sold the Boca Raton News to Community Newspaper Holdings.[48] In November 1997, Knight Ridder sold the Long Beach Press-Telegram to Garden State Newspapers Inc., an affiliate MediaNews Group.[49]

In April 1998, Knight Ridder announced it will relocate its headquarters from Miami, Florida to San Jose, California. The goal was to change it's public image from a traditional newspaper company to a high-technology information provider.[50] In February 1998, the company sold the Gary Post-Tribune to Hollinger International, Inc.[51] In April 2000, Knight Ridder purchased The Olathe News.[52]

Iraq War coverage

In the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Knight Ridder DC Bureau reporters Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel wrote a series of articles critical of intelligence suggesting links between Saddam Hussein, the obtainment of weapons of mass destruction, and Al-Qaeda, citing anonymous sources. Landay and Strobel's stories ran counter to reports by The New York Times, The Washington Post and other national publications, resulting in some newspapers within the Knight-Ridder chain refusing to run the two reporters' stories, with some choosing to substitute coverage from The Times.[53]

After the war and the discrediting of many initial news reports written and carried by others, Strobel and Landay received the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award from the Senate Press Gallery in 2004, for their coverage.[54]

The Huffington Post headlined the two as "the reporting team that got Iraq right".[55] The Columbia Journalism Review described the reporting as "unequaled by the Bigfoots working at higher-visibility outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times".[56]

Later after the war, their work was featured in Bill Moyers' PBS documentary "Buying The War"[57] and was dramatized in Rob Reiner's 2017 film Shock and Awe.[58]

Purchase by McClatchy

In February 2005, Knight Ridder purchased the Palo Alto Daily News and its four sibling publications.[59] In August 2005, Knight Ridder sold the Detroit Free Press and Tallahassee Democrat to Gannett. In return, the company acquired the Idaho Statesman, The Bellingham Herald and The Olympian.[60]

In November 2005, the Knight Ridder announced plans for "strategic initiatives," which involved the possible sale of the company. This came after three major institutional shareholders publicly urged management to put the company up for sale. At the time, the company had a higher profit margin than many Fortune 500 companies, including ExxonMobil.[61] On March 13, 2006, The McClatchy Company announced its agreement to purchase Knight Ridder for a purchase price of $6.5 billion in cash, stock and debt.[62] The deal gave McClatchy 32 daily newspapers in 29 markets, with a total circulation of 3.3 million. However, for various reasons, McClatchy decided immediately to resell twelve of these papers.[63]

The accumulative sale price $2.078 billion. The San Jose Mercury and Contra Costa Times went to Bay Area News Group, co-owned by MediaNews. The St. Paul Pioneer Press and The Monterey County Herald went to Hearst Communications, who agreed to later resell them to MediaNews.[64] The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News went to Philadelphia Media Holdings.[65] The Akron Beacon Journal went to Black Press Media, The News-Sentinel went to Ogden Newspapers, the Duluth News Tribune went to Forum Communications Company, and Aberdeen American News went to Schurz Communications.[66] Finally, the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader was sold to private investors in June 2006.[67]

List of newspapers

Daily newspapers owned by Knight Ridder and its predecessors – listed alphabetically by place of publication – included:

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Knight Ridder-owned companies

A list of companies that were at one time or another owned by Knight Ridder:

  • Vu/Text: 1982–1996. Merged with PressLink to become MediaStream.
  • PressLink: ??–1996. Merged with Vu/Text to become MediaStream.
  • MediaStream: 1996–2001. Acquired by NewsBank[68]
  • DataStar: Acquired from Radio Schweiz Ltd., merged with Dialog to form Knight Ridder Information
  • Dialog (online database): Merged with DataStar to form Knight Ridder Information
  • Knight Ridder Information: ??–1997, Acquired by MAID, later by Thomson
  • Knight Ridder Financial Inc: 1985–1996. Acquired by Global Financial trading as Bridge Data.
  • RealCities Network:[69] 2004–2006. RealCities was a portal/hub website for Knight-Ridder group. It was absorbed with The McClatchy Company into McClatchy Interactive[70] and sold to Chicago-based Centro[71] in 2008.

Knight Ridder-owned television stations

Knight Newspapers entered broadcasting in 1946 via the purchase of minority ownership stakes in WQAM in Miami, WIND in Chicago, and WAKR in Akron; all three stations were in markets served by a Knight newspaper.[72][73][74] The minority stake in WAKR's parent company, Summit Radio, also included the establishment of WAKR-TV (channel 49), as well as WAKR-FM (97.5) and six radio stations purchased in Dayton, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; and Denver, Colorado.[75] WAKR-TV was built and signed on by Summit on July 23, 1953, as the Akron market's ABC affiliate,[76] moving to channel 23 on December 1, 1967.[77] Knight Ridder divested its stake in Summit Radio by 1977;[78] a planned merger between the two entities in 1968 failed to be consummated.[79]

In 1954, Ridder Newspapers launched WDSM-TV in Superior, Wisconsin, serving the Duluth, Minnesota market. Initially a CBS affiliate, it switched to its present NBC affiliation a year and a half after the station's launch. It was spun off after Ridder's merger with Knight Newspapers, Inc.

From 1956 to 1962, Knight and the Cox publishing family jointly operated Biscayne Television, which owned NBC affiliate WCKT in Miami, Florida, as well as WCKR radio, which this entity purchased from Cox;[80] Knight sold off WQAM to a third party as part of Biscayne's formation.[81] Revelations of improper behavior and underhanded tactics by Biscayne[82][83][84] and National Airlines (which signed on WPST-TV, also in Miami[85]) to secure their licenses, along with ethics violations within the FCC itself, resulted in the licenses for both stations being revoked.[86][87] A replacement license for WCKT was granted in 1960 to Sunbeam Television, the lone bidder for the prior license not to have engaged in any unethical behavior;[88][89] Biscayne sold to Sunbeam WCKT's non-license assets: the studios, intellectual property and all off- and on-air personnel for the new station, which took the WCKT name for continuity.[90] Cox repurchased WCKR, reviving that station's prior WIOD call sign.[91]

Following the divestment of their stake in Summit Radio, Knight Ridder acquired Poole Broadcasting, which consisted of WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan, WTEN in Albany, New York and its satellite WCDC in Adams, Massachusetts, and WPRI-TV in Providence, Rhode Island. Immediately after the acquisition of these stations was finalized, Knight Ridder cut a corporate affiliation deal with ABC, switching then-CBS affiliates WTEN/WCDC and WPRI (the latter of which eventually rejoined CBS) to ABC (WJRT was already affiliated with ABC when the affiliation deal was made). As part of the deal, Poole Broadcasting would eventually become Knight Ridder Broadcasting. Knight Ridder would acquire several television stations in medium-sized markets during the 1980s, including three stations owned by The Detroit News which the Gannett Company—which purchased the newspaper in 1986—could not keep due to Federal Communications Commission regulations on media cross-ownership and/or television duopolies then in effect. (None of Knight Ridder's later acquisitions changed their network affiliations under Knight Ridder ownership; for example, then-NBC affiliate WALA-TV in Mobile, Alabama remained an NBC affiliate when it was owned by Knight Ridder and would switch to Fox several years after Knight Ridder sold the station.)

In early 1989, Knight Ridder announced its exit from broadcasting, selling all of its stations to separate buyers; the sales were finalized in the summer and early fall of that year. This deal was made in order to reduce their debt loads from the proceedings.[92] One of the stations, WALA-TV went to Burnham Broadcasting for $40 million, while WKRN would go to Young Broadcasting for $50 million, KOLD-TV to News-Press & Gazette Company for an undisclosed price, and two television stations WPRI and WTKR to Narragansett Television L.P. for $150 million on February 18, 1989.[93] This was followed by the following month with the sale of KTVY-TV to WHO-TV owner Palmer Communications, for $50 million.[94] WTEN was the next-to-last station to be sold, going to Young Broadcasting for $38 million,[95] and WJRT would eventually becoming the final Knight Ridder station, to be sold to SJL Broadcasting for $39 million.[96]

Stations owned by Knight Ridder and predecessors
Media market State Station Purchased Sold Notes
Mobile Alabama WALA-TV 1986 1989
Tucson Arizona KOLD-TV 1986 1989
Miami Florida WCKT 1956 1962 Template:EfnTemplate:Efn
Adams Massachusetts WCDC-TV 1978 1989 Template:Efn
Flint Michigan WJRT-TV 1978 1989
Albany New York WTEN 1978 1989
Akron–Cleveland Ohio WAKR-TV 1953 1977 Template:Efn
Oklahoma City Oklahoma KTVY 1986 1989
Providence Rhode Island WPRI-TV 1978 1989
Nashville Tennessee WKRN-TV 1983 1989
Norfolk Virginia WTKR 1981 1989
Superior Wisconsin WDSM-TV 1954 1974 Template:Efn

Template:Notelist

Media

Script error: No such module "Portal". • Shock and Awe, 2018 film about a group of journalists at Knight Ridder's Washington Bureau who investigate the reasons behind the Bush Administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Notable people

References

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  1. ↑ "Where We Are." Knight Ridder. April 28, 2005. Retrieved on August 28, 2012. "Knight Ridder 50 W. San Fernando St. San Jose, CA 95113" and "Knight Ridder Digital 35 South Market Street San Jose, CA 95113-2302"
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  53. ↑ Walcott, John. "Why the Press Failed on Iraq; And How One Team of Reporters Got It Right", Foreign Affairs, March 19, 2023. Accessed November 27, 2025. "Our reporting might have been getting under officials’ skin, but it did not slow the administration’s march to war. Some Knight Ridder papers even ignored what their own Washington bureau was writing and instead printed New York Times stories (which the paper later admitted were wrong)."
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  55. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  56. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  57. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  58. ↑ Fear, David. "‘Shock and Awe’ Review: Journalistic Drama Is No ‘All the President’s Men’", Rolling Stone, July 13, 2018. Accessed November 27, 2025. "The idea that someone would make a movie about Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay, the Knight-Ridder reporters who questioned the Bush’s administration rush to war in Iraq after 9/11, is both bold counterprogramming and a necessary corrective – these men should be household names a la Woodward and Bernstein."
  59. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  61. ↑ [1] Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
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  63. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  64. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  78. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  80. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  81. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  84. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  85. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  86. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  87. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  88. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  89. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  90. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  91. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  92. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  93. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  94. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  95. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  96. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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Further reading

  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

External links

Template:Sister project

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