American newspaper group
Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc. was a
United States newspaper group based in
Ohio which had its origins in 1923 and was sold to
Thomson Newspapers in 1967 for $72 million, the largest ever newspaper transaction at that time.
[1]
[2]
In 1923, Louis Herbert Brush, who had joined the Salem News (of
Salem, Ohio ) as a manager in 1894 and purchased it in 1897,
[3] entered into a partnership with Roy Donald Moore and William Henry Vodrey, Jr. to purchase
The Marion Star from then-U.S. President
Warren G. Harding .
[4]
[5] By 1924,
Time magazine already noted the group as one of the prominent newspaper groups in the country, with four papers and a total circulation of 30,906.
[6] In 1927, the "Brush-Moore" chain was created from their holdings.
[3]
Brush and Moore
Joseph K. Vodrey, son of W.H. Vodrey Jr., became general manager of Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc. in 1946. Vodrey was Vice-President and a member of the Brush-Moore board of directors from 1951 to 1968, when he retired. He also served as Vice-President and as a Director of the Beaverkettle Company.
At the time of the 1967 sale, Brush-Moore owned 12 daily papers, including six in
Ohio (the
Canton Repository , East Liverpool Review, Salem News,
Steubenville Herald , Marion Star, and
Portsmouth Times ) three in
California (
Times-Standard ,
San Gabriel Valley Tribune , and
Oxnard Press-Courier ), and one in
Maryland (
Salisbury Daily Times ),
Pennsylvania (Hanover Evening Sun), and
West Virginia (Weirton Daily Times), with a total circulation of approximately 540,000.
[1]
[7]
Holdings
Ohio
Salem News . Owned by Brush since 1897. Sold to Thomson in 1967.
East Liverpool Review . Acquired by Brush in 1901.
[8] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
The Marion Star . Acquired in 1923 from President Warren G. Harding. Sold to Thomson in 1967.
Steubenville Herald Acquired 1925.
[8] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
Canton Repository . Acquired 1927.
[9] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
Portsmouth Times . Acquired 1930.
[10]
[11] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
Canton Daily News . Acquired and shut down this 97-year-old paper in 1930, leaving Brush-Moore with the only evening paper in the town.
[12]
Ironton Tribune . Acquired 50% interest in 1930, and full ownership in 1955.
[11] Sold in 1960s prior to sale to Thomson.[
citation needed ]
California
Other
Radio
Ohio Broadcasting Co. was a subsidiary of Brush-Moore which focused on radio interests.
WHBC (AM) (Canton, Ohio). Purchased 1936.
WPAY (AM) (Portsmouth, Ohio), acquired in 1944 through purchase of Scioto Broadcasting company.
[8]
WONE (AM) (Dayton, Ohio). Purchased in 1961,
[20] sold in 1964 to Group One Broadcasting.
[21]
[22]
WONE-FM (now
WTUE ) (Dayton, Ohio). Purchased in 1961,
[20] sold in 1964 to Group One Broadcasting.
[21]
[22]
WONE-TV (now
WKEF ). Dayton television station, purchased in 1961,
[20] sold in 1963 to
Springfield Television .
[23]
[24]
WPDQ (Jacksonville, Florida). Sold in 1964 to Belk Broadcasting Co.
[25]
References
^
a
b
Thomson Buys Paper Group ,
St. Petersburg Times (
UPI ), August 26, 1967
^
Newspapers: Strength in the Afternoon ,
Time (magazine) , September 8, 1967
^
a
b
Louis H. Brush, 76, Publisher, Is Dead: Chairman of Board of Ohio Newspaper Chain is Stricken at Republican Convention ,
The New York Times , June 25, 1948
^
The Press: Ledger to Brush-Moore? ,
Time (magazine) , January 2, 1939
^
Roy Moore Dead; Ohio Publisher, 66 ,
The New York Times , May 2, 1954
^
The Press: Magnates ,
Time (magazine) , March 3, 1924 ("The group owned by Louis H. Brush, Roy D. Moore, and William H. Vodrey, Jr.: the Marion Star, the East Liverpool Tribune, the East Liverpool Review, the Salem News—total circulation 30,906 daily.")
^
12 Brush-Moore Newspapers Sold to Thomson ,
The New York Times , August 26, 1967
^
a
b
c
The National cyclopaedia of American biography , p.66 (1967)
^
Newspapers May Finance: Brush-Moore Chain Buys Two Publications in Canton ,
The New York Times , June 22, 1927 (reference to "two publications" in headline is to the Evening Repository and the Sunday Repository)
^
Harry E. Taylor, Ohio Editor, Dead ,
The New York Times , March 13, 1932 ("He sold the paper two years ago to the Brush-Moore interests")
^
a
b
Ownership Of Ironton Newspaper Passes To Brush-Moore Co. ,
Park City Daily News , May 13, 1955
^
COX SELLS CANTON NEWS.; Brush-Moore Group to Discontinue Paper Don Mellett Served ,
The New York Times , July 4, 1930
^
"Eastern Company Buys Paper in West Covina" .
Los Angeles Times . March 17, 1960. p. 24.
ProQuest
167601107 . Archived from
the original on November 4, 2012.
^
"Ohio Company Buys Oxnard Press-Courier" .
Los Angeles Times . January 17, 1963. p. 21.
ProQuest
168243424 . Archived from
the original on November 4, 2012.
^
Thompson, Mike (November 18, 2004).
"Honoring the 150th Anniversary of the Times-Standard" .
Congressional Record . 150 (133). Retrieved January 4, 2024 .
^
Maryland Papers Sold; Salisbury Journals Are Published Now by Brush-Moore ,
The New York Times , July 9, 1937
^
Out of the past: 25 years ago ,
Gettysburg Times , July 1, 1983
^ Welch, Jack.
History of Hancock County , p.97 (1963)
^
The Arizona Star Is Sold Provisionally to Ohio Chain , November 26, 1964
^
a
b
c
"The Media: Changing Hands" (PDF) . Broadcasting . March 27, 1961. pp. 78, 79. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
^
a
b
WONE Bought ,
Billboard (magazine) , October 24, 1964, p.26
^
a
b
Summit Radio Unit Acquires Dayton, Ohio, Radio Station ,
The Wall Street Journal , October 5, 1964 ("The sale leaves WHBC in Canton as the only radio affiliate of BrushMoore's subsidiary")
^
"The Media: Changing Hands" (PDF) . Broadcasting . December 16, 1963. p. 71. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
^
"For the Record: Ownership Changes" (PDF) . Broadcasting . December 16, 1963. p. 104. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
^
WPDQ Jacksonville sold for $750,000 , Broadcasting , Volume 66, pp. 9, 96 (1964)