COMPANY·HISTORIES
NAIC 51111

Newspaper Publishers

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

60companies1767–1999founding years60still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedJohnston Press plc
1767
FoundedHavas SA
1835
FoundedThe New York Times Company
1851
FoundedMedia General, Inc.
1879
FoundedLee Enterprises Inc.
1890
FoundedPearson plc
1897
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedIndependent News & Media PLC
1904
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedUnited Business Media plc
1918
FoundedPower Corporation of Canada
1925
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedLe Monde S.A.
1944
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedFreedom Communications, Inc.
1950
FoundedTorstar Corporation
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedMorris Communications Corporation
1970
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
FoundedGrupo Televisa, S.A.
1972
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedThe Thomson Corporation
1977
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
FoundedOnion, Inc.
1988
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
TechnologyLinux and open source challenge proprietary software.
FoundedSchibsted ASA
1992
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
FoundedEntravision Communications Corporation
1996
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Johnston Press plc →
Active · founded 1767 · United Kingdom
Edinburgh, Scotland's Johnston Press plc has pressed itself into the ranks of the United Kingdom's top five regional…
Guardian Media Group plc →
Active · founded 1821 · United Kingdom
Guardian Media Group plc (GMG) is an anomaly in the British media market.
Société du Figaro S.A. →
Active · founded 1826 · France
One of France's oldest newspaper groups, Société du Figaro S.A.
Havas SA →
Active · founded 1835 · France
Havas SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of utilities and telecommunications giant Vivendi SA, is the largest publishing…
Bonnier AB →
Active · founded 1837 · Sweden
Bonnier AB is one of the Nordic region's leading media groups, losing out the top spot to Finland's SanomaWSOY in 2001.
The Economist Group Ltd. →
Active · founded 1843 · United Kingdom
The Economist Group Ltd.
The New York Times Company →
Active · founded 1851
The New York Times Company (NYTC) is a diversified media company including newspapers, magazines, television and radio…
Tribune Company →
Active · founded 1861
Tribune Company is one of the largest media companies in the United States.
Carl Allers Etablissement A/S →
Active · founded 1873 · Denmark
Carl Allers Etablissement A/S is one of the Scandinavian region's leading media groups.
Pulitzer Inc. →
Active · founded 1878
With a history that dates back to the late 1800s, Pulitzer Inc.
Media General, Inc. →
Active · founded 1879
Media General, Inc.
Reed Elsevier plc →
Active · founded 1880 · United Kingdom
Reed Elsevier plc is the joint venture of London-based Reed International plc and Netherlands-based Elsevier N.V.
The Providence Journal Company →
Active · founded 1884
The Providence Journal Company owns the Providence Journal, the longest continuously published daily newspaper in the…
Lee Enterprises Inc. →
Active · founded 1890
Lee Enterprises Inc.
The E.W. Scripps Company →
Active · founded 1890
The E.W.
Pathé SA →
Active · founded 1896 · France
One of the most illustrious names in motion picture history, Pathé remains one of France's leading forces in film…
Pearson plc →
Active · founded 1897 · United Kingdom
Since the mid-1990s, Pearson plc has transformed itself from a industrial holding company with a large and sometimes…
The Christian Science Publishing Society →
Active · founded 1897
The Christian Science Publishing Society is the nonprofit, independently run media arm of The First Church of Christ,…
Paddock Publications, Inc. →
Active · founded 1898 · United States
Based in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Paddock Publications, Inc.
Wegener NV →
Active · founded 1903 · The Netherlands
Wegener NV is one of the Netherlands' leading newspaper publishing groups.
Independent News & Media PLC →
Active · founded 1904 · Ireland
Independent News & Media PLC is one of the leading newspaper groups in the English-speaking world.
Landmark Communications, Inc. →
Active · founded 1905
Landmark Communications, Inc.
Naspers Ltd. →
Active · founded 1915 · South Africa
Naspers Ltd.
United Business Media plc →
Active · founded 1918 · United Kingdom
Early 1980s:United Newspapers makes its first major U.S.
New York Daily News →
Active · founded 1919
Called "too tough to die," the New York Daily News was the largest circulation metropolitan daily newspaper in the…
Gannett Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1923
Referring to itself as a diversified news and information company, Gannett Company, Inc.
Power Corporation of Canada →
Active · founded 1925 · Canada
Early 1950s:Company begins to diversify its interests away from the utility industry.
A.H. Belo Corporation →
Active · founded 1926
Originating as a small-town publisher of the Dallas Morning News and the Texas Almanac, A.H.
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1930
Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Tamedia AG →
Active · founded 1933 · Switzerland
Tamedia AG is Switzerland's second largest media and publishing group.
Le Monde S.A. →
Active · founded 1944 · France
Producer of what many consider the most prestigious newspaper in France since the end of the World War II, Le Monde S.A.
Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH →
Active · founded 1948 · Germany
Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH is the holding company for Germany's fourth largest publishing and media…
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH →
Active · founded 1949 · Germany
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH publishes the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung--FAZ for short.
Freedom Communications, Inc. →
Active · founded 1950
Freedom Communications, Inc.
Roularta Media Group NV →
Active · founded 1954 · Belgium
Roularta Media Group NV is a Belgian-based media conglomerate.
Scottish Media Group plc →
Active · founded 1957 · United Kingdom
Scottish Media Group plc is one of the largest cross-platform media companies serving Scotland.
Torstar Corporation →
Active · founded 1958 · www.torstar.com
The Torstar Corporation is a diversified publisher based in Toronto, with three major business segments: newspapers,…
Quebecor Inc. →
Active · founded 1965 · Canada
Quebecor Inc.
Cox Enterprises, Inc. →
Active · founded 1968
Cox Enterprises, Inc.
Andrews McMeel Universal →
Active · founded 1970
Andrews McMeel Universal is a diversified publishing and media company that includes under its umbrella one of the…
Morris Communications Corporation →
Active · founded 1970
Morris Communications Corporation (MCC) is a mid-sized media company with holdings in diverse media.
New Times, Inc. →
Active · founded 1970
New Times, Inc.
PCM Uitgevers NV →
Active · founded 1970 · The Netherlands
PCM Uitgevers NV is one of the Netherland's leading newspaper and publishing groups.
Grupo Televisa, S.A. →
Active · founded 1972 · Mexico
Grupo Televisa, S.A.
Dennis Publishing Ltd. →
Active · founded 1973 · United Kingdom
Dennis Publishing Ltd.
Knight Ridder, Inc. →
Active · founded 1974
Knight Ridder, Inc.
The Thomson Corporation →
Active · founded 1977 · Canada
As it prepares to enter the 21st century, The Thomson Corporation is completing its transformation from a media,…
News Corporation Limited →
Active · founded 1979 · Australia
News Corporation Limited is the holding company for the large range of enterprises created or acquired since the 1950s…
MediaNews Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
MediaNews Group, Inc., is the seventh largest newspaper company in the United States.
Village Voice Media, Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
Village Voice Media, Inc.
Onion, Inc. →
Active · founded 1988
Onion, Inc.
Hollinger International Inc. →
Active · founded 1990 · Canada
Hollinger International Inc.
Journal Register Company →
Active · founded 1990
The Journal Register Company (JRC) owns and operates 24 daily newspapers and 185 nondaily publications in seven…
Schibsted ASA →
Active · founded 1992 · Norway
After operating for more than 100 years as a family-owned newspaper business, Schibsted ASA was incorporated in 1992 as…
Modern Times Group AB →
Active · founded 1995 · Sweden
Sweden's Modern Times Group AB (MTG) is one of the Scandinavian market's leading media companies, with interests…
Newsquest plc →
Active · founded 1995 · United Kingdom
In less than five years, Newsquest plc has risen to become England's largest regional newspaper publisher and the third…
Entravision Communications Corporation →
Active · founded 1996
Entravision Communications Corporation is a diversified media company utilizing a combination of television, radio,…
Grupo Clarín S.A. →
Active · founded 1999 · Argentina
Grupo Clarín S.A., a privately owned Argentine holding company, is the leading media group in the Spanish-speaking…
SanomaWSOY Corporation →
Active · founded 1999 · Finland
Finland's SanomaWSOY Corporation leapt onto the broader European media scene with the 2001 acquisition of VNU's…
Trinity Mirror plc →
Active · founded 1999 · United Kingdom
Trinity Mirror plc is the largest newspaper publisher in the United Kingdom, with more than 250 regional and national…
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