- For the unrelated television series, see Knight Rider. Knight Rider is an American Television series that originally ran from September 26 1982 to August 8 1986
Knight Ridder (IPA: /ˈrɪdɚ/) was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers. The McClatchy Company is an American Publishing company based in Sacramento California, that operates a number of Newspapers and Websites Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Contents |
History
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 German language Staats-Zeitung newspaper in 1892. John Shively Knight ( October 26, 1894 – June 16, 1981) was an American Newspaper publisher and editor The Akron Beacon Journal is a morning Newspaper in Akron Ohio, and published by Black Press Ltd Charles Landon Knight ( 18 June 1867 — 26 September 1933) was an American lawyer and newspaper publisher who represented Ohio in the The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. As anti-German sentiment increased between the two world wars, Ridder successfully transitioned into English language publishing by acquiring the Journal of Commerce in 1926. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States
Both companies went public in 1969 and merged in 1974. For a brief time, the combined company was the largest newspaper publisher in the United States.
Knight Ridder had a long history of innovation in technology. It was one of the first newspaper publishers to experiment with videotex when it launched its Viewtron system in 1982, was one of the first to actively develop newspaper content for America Online in 1993, and joined the ill-fated New Century Network project in 1994. Videotex (or "interactive videotex" was one of the earliest implementations of an "end-user information system" Viewtron was an early online service offered by Knight-Ridder and AT&T.
For most of its existence, the company was based in Miami, with headquarters on the top floor at its flagship newspaper, The Miami Herald. The Miami Herald is a daily Newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered in Downtown Miami Florida. In 1998, Knight Ridder announced it would relocate its headquarters from Miami to San Jose, Calif. ; there, the company's San Jose Mercury News -- one of the first daily newspapers to regularly publish its full content online -- was booming along with the rest of Silicon Valley. The San Jose Mercury News is the major daily Newspaper in San Jose California and Silicon Valley. The company rented a sleek downtown high-rise as its new corporate base.
Many argue that the quality of Knight Ridder newspapers had suffered in recent years as its president, Tony Ridder, forced by shareholder demands, cut staff and budgets to achieve a profit margin of more than 20 percent.
In November of 2005, the company announced plans for "strategic initiatives," which involved the possible sale of the company. This came after major shareholders publicly said the company was worth less than the sum of its parts and urged management to put the company up for sale. The Newspaper Guild tried to work with an investment firm to take control of the Knight Ridder papers where it represented the journalists. The Newspaper Guild is a labor union founded by newspaper Journalists in 1933 who noticed that unionized printers and truck drivers were making more money Knight Ridder said it would only sell the company as a whole, not individual papers, and the Guild responded that if that happened, the investment group would try to buy some of the papers from the new owner.
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. The deal gave McClatchy 32 daily newspapers in 29 markets, with a total circulation of 3. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The McClatchy Company is an American Publishing company based in Sacramento California, that operates a number of Newspapers and Websites 3 million. However, for various reasons, McClatchy decided to immediately resell twelve of these papers. [1]
On April 26, 2006, McClatchy announced it was selling the San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Monterey Herald, and St. Events 1467 - The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appear in Genazzano, Italy. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Paul Pioneer Press to MediaNews Group (with backing from the Hearst Corporation) for $1 billion. MediaNews Group, based in Denver Colorado, is one of the largest Newspaper companies in the United States. Hearst Communications Inc is a privately-held American -based Media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower in New York City, USA [2]
List of newspapers
Daily newspapers owned by Knight Ridder and its predecessors included:
Knight Ridder-Owned Companies
A list of companies that were at one time or another owned by Knight Ridder:
- Vu/Text - 1982-1996. The American News is a newspaper in Aberdeen South Dakota, published by Schurz Communications of South Bend Indiana Aberdeen is a City and the County seat of Brown County, South Dakota, USA, about 125 mi (200 km N The Akron Beacon Journal is a morning Newspaper in Akron Ohio, and published by Black Press Ltd Akron is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Summit County. For the Kentucky newspaper please see News Democrat & Leader. Belleville is a city in St Clair County, Illinois, United States. The Bellingham Herald is the only daily newspaper published in Bellingham, Washington, in the United States. Bellingham, Washington is the County seat of Whatcom County in the U This article is about the United States newspaper For the Sunday newspaper in Sydney Australia see The Sun-Herald. The Boca Raton News, owned by the South Florida Media Company is the local community newspaper of Boca Raton Florida. Boca Raton ("bōkə rə-tōn" is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida incorporated in May 1925 The Daily Camera is a daily Newspaper in Boulder Colorado. Frederick P Boulder is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and most populous city of Boulder County, Colorado, in the United States The Bradenton Herald is a McClatchy Newspaper in Bradenton Florida, in the United States. Bradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The Idaho Statesman is a US daily newspaper serving the Boise, Idaho metropolitan area Boise (ˈbɔɪsi is the capital and most populous city of the U The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily Newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago Illinois. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The Charlotte Observer, serving Charlotte North Carolina and its metro area, is the largest newspaper in terms of circulation in North The State is a daily morning Newspaper published in Columbia, South Carolina, in the United States. Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the US state of South Carolina. The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer is a McClatchy newspaper headquartered in Columbus Georgia, in the United States. Columbus is a City in Muscogee County, Georgia, United States. The Contra Costa Times is a daily Newspaper based in Walnut Creek California, U Walnut Creek is a Suburban community located 16 miles east of the city of Oakland The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily Newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Duluth News Tribune (or known locally as The Tribune) is a newspaper in Duluth Minnesota. Duluth is a Port City in the US state of Minnesota and the County seat of St The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major US daily Newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventeenth-largest city in the United States. The Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana (formerly the Gary Post-Tribune) is a daily Newspaper headquartered in Merrillville Indiana, The Grand Forks Herald is a daily Broadsheet Newspaper, begun in 1879, published in Grand Forks North Dakota. Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the US state of North Dakota and the County seat of Grand Forks County. The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy Newspaper based in Kansas City Missouri, in the United States. Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages The Lexington Herald-Leader is a Newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and based in the U Lexington (officially Lexington-Fayette Urban County is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 68th largest in the United States. The Long Beach Press-Telegram is a major conservative daily newspaper published in Long Beach California. Long Beach is a city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast The Telegraph, frequently referred to as the Macon Telegraph, is a McClatchy newspaper in Macon, Georgia, United Macon is a city located in central Georgia, USA It is among the largest metropolitan areas in Georgia and the county seat of Bibb County. The Miami Herald is a daily Newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered in Downtown Miami Florida. El Nuevo Herald is a McClatchy Newspaper published daily in Spanish in Miami Florida, in the United States. The Monterey County Herald, sometimes referred to as the Monterey Herald, is the major daily Newspaper published in Monterey California The Sun News is a daily newspaper published in Myrtle Beach South Carolina, in the United States. The News-Sentinel is a Pulitzer Prize -winning daily newspaper in Fort Wayne Indiana. Fort Wayne is a City in northeastern Indiana, United States and the County seat of Allen The Olathe News is a McClatchy newspaper based in Olathe Kansas, in the United States. Olathe (oʊˈleɪθə is a city located in the northeast part of the U The Olympian is a McClatchy newspaper in Olympia Washington, in the United States. Olympia is the Capital of Washington and is the County seat of Thurston County. The Palo Alto Daily News is a Free daily newspaper, originally independent and serving Palo Alto California, now owned by MediaNews Group Palo Alto (ˌpæloʊˈæltoʊ from Spanish: palo: "stick" and alto: "high" i The Pasadena Star-News is the local daily newspaper for Pasadena, California. Pasadena ( is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The Philadelphia Daily News is a Tabloid newspaper that began publishing on March 31, 1925, under founding editor Lee Ellmaker Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily Newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə The St Paul Pioneer Press is a Newspaper based in St Paul Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area Saint Paul ( abbreviated St Paul) is the capital and second most populous city in the U The San Jose Mercury News is the major daily Newspaper in San Jose California and Silicon Valley. San Luis Obispo (sænˈluːɪs əˈbɪspoʊ Spanish for St Louis the Bishop) is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco Starkville is a city in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. The Centre Daily Times is a daily newspaper located in State College, Pennsylvania in the United States. State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U West Point is a city in Clay County, Mississippi, United States. The Wichita Eagle is a daily Newspaper published in Wichita Kansas. Wichita (ˈwɪtʃɪtaː is the most populous City in the US state of Kansas, and the county seat of Sedgwick County. The Times Leader is a privately owned newspaper in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre (ˈwɪlksbɛrə or /-bɛri/ is the central city of the Wyoming Valley and County seat of Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania Merged with PressLink to become MediaStream.
- PressLink - ??-1996. Merged with Vu/Text to become MediaStream.
- MediaStream - 1996-2001, Acquired by NewsBank
- 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-Owned Television Stations
From 1956 to 1962, Knight Newspapers, Inc. Dialog is an online information service formerly owned by Thomson Corporation. co-owned a then-NBC affiliate, WCKT in Miami, Florida, with the Cox publishing family. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's WSVN, channel 7 is the Fox -affiliated Television station for South Florida, licensed to Miami.
In 1977, Knight Ridder entered broadcasting with the acquisition of 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. WJRT, channel 12 is an ABC -owned and operated television station ( O&O) in the Flint - Saginaw - Bay City Michigan television market Flint is a city in the US state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, 66 miles (106 km northwest of Detroit. WTEN is the ABC -affiliated Television station for the Capital District of New York State and western New England. Albany is the Capital of the State of New York and the County seat of Albany County. Adams is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. WPRI-TV, channel 12 is the CBS -affiliated Television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County Massachusetts, licensed 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). The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. 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. The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the US Gannett Company Inc ( is a publicly-traded media Holding company based in the United States. (Interestingly, 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. WALA-TV ("Fox Ten" is the Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate for southern Alabama and the western Panhandle area of Florida. ) 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.
| Current DMA# | Market | Station | Years Owned | Current Affiliation/Owner |
| 16. A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area, DMA or simply market is a region where the Population | Miami, Florida | WCKT 7 (now WSVN) |
1956-62** | Fox affiliate owned by Sunbeam Television |
| 30. WSVN, channel 7 is the Fox -affiliated Television station for South Florida, licensed to Miami. Sunbeam Television Corporation is a broadcasting company based in Miami Florida, owned by Edmund N | Nashville, Tennessee | WKRN-TV 2 | 1983-89 | ABC affiliate owned by Young Broadcasting |
| 42. WKRN-TV channel 2 is the ABC affiliate in Nashville Tennessee. The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. Young Broadcasting ( is an American Holding company that operates 13 Television stations. | Norfolk, Virginia | WTKR 3 | 1981-89 | CBS affiliate owned by Local TV |
| 45. Norfolk is an Independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States WTKR is the CBS affiliate serving the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, officially known as the Norfolk - Portsmouth - Newport News CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Local TV LLC is a Limited liability corporation, owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners, which operates 18 local network-affiated television stations in the United | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | KTVY 4 (now KFOR-TV) |
1986-89 | NBC affiliate owned by Local TV |
| 52. Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the US state of Oklahoma. KFOR-TV, channel 4 is an NBC-affiliated television station in Oklahoma City Oklahoma. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's | Providence, Rhode Island | WPRI-TV 12 | 1977-89 | CBS affiliate owned by LIN Television |
| 56. WPRI-TV, channel 12 is the CBS -affiliated Television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County Massachusetts, licensed | Albany, New York | WTEN 10 | 1977-89 | ABC affiliate owned by Young Broadcasting |
| Adams, Massachusetts | WCDC 19 (satellite of WTEN) |
1977-89 | ABC affiliate owned by Young Broadcasting | |
| 61. Albany is the Capital of the State of New York and the County seat of Albany County. WTEN is the ABC -affiliated Television station for the Capital District of New York State and western New England. Adams is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. | Mobile, Alabama - Pensacola, Florida | WALA-TV 10 | 1986-89 | Fox affiliate owned by LIN Television |
| 66. Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the County seat of Escambia County. WALA-TV ("Fox Ten" is the Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate for southern Alabama and the western Panhandle area of Florida. | Flint, Michigan | WJRT-TV 12 | 1977-89 | ABC owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| 68. Flint is a city in the US state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, 66 miles (106 km northwest of Detroit. WJRT, channel 12 is an ABC -owned and operated television station ( O&O) in the Flint - Saginaw - Bay City Michigan television market | Tucson, Arizona | KOLD-TV 13 | 1986-89 | CBS affiliate owned by Raycom Media |
**This station was co-owned by Knight Newspapers and Cox Newspapers, long before Knight's merger with Ridder Publications. Tucson (ˈtuːsɒn is the seat of Pima County Arizona, United States, located 118 miles (188 km) southeast KOLD-TV is a full-service television station in Tucson Arizona. Raycom Media is a Broadcasting company based in Montgomery Alabama.
Trivia
- The Dutch name "Ridder" is closely related to the German name "Ritter. " Both names mean "knight. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. "
- Contrary to popular belief, the company had nothing to do with the television series Knight Rider. Knight Rider is an American Television series that originally ran from September 26 1982 to August 8 1986 However, rumors once circulated that the company had made actor David Hasselhoff an honorary Vice President as a gag. This, of course, was not the case.
External links
References
- Seelye, Katharine Q.; Andrew Ross Sorkin. Katharine Q Seelye is a political reporter for The New York Times. "Knight Ridder Newspaper Chain Agrees to Sale" (Fee), The New York Times, 2006-03-12. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving