The Herald-Dispatch
The Herald-Dispatch celebrates its 108th anniversary today.
The Herald-Dispatch’s roots go back to 1871 when O.G. Chase arrived in the Huntington area on a riverboat. Supplied with printing equipment, he eventually acquired a lot on Second Avenue between 8th and 9th streets, where he maintained an office for more than a year.
Known as The Independent, Chase’s publication merged in 1875 with the Cabell Press, and the new publication was called the Weekly Advertiser. When it later became a daily paper, the name was condensed to The Advertiser.
Long published The Huntington Herald for 18 months, sold it and purchased The Advertiser. The acquisition marked the beginning of the modern-day era in the history of The Herald-Dispatch.
By 1902, Long had moved The Advertiser from its 9th Street location to 4th Avenue. At about the same time, Floyd S. Chapman, a future several-term mayor of Huntington, became the city editor of The Advertiser.
Shortly thereafter, he resigned to take charge of the newsroom at The Herald. In 1904, he left The Herald to begin his own newspaper, The Huntington Dispatch.
History had shown that the Huntington area would support two newspapers, but not three. As a result, The Herald and The Dispatch merged in 1909 to become The Herald-Dispatch. The first issue was published Jan. 17, 1909.
Meanwhile, The Advertiser relocated to the corner of 5th Avenue and 10th Street (the current home of The Herald-Dispatch) because it had outgrown its headquarters on 4th Avenue. Negotiations to merge The Advertiser and The Herald-Dispatch eventually ensued. As a result, The Huntington Publishing Co. was formed in 1927 with Long as president.
The staff of The Herald-Dispatch moved into The Advertiser’s building, but the two staffs remained separate and competitive. Many readers of The Herald-Dispatch likely remember The Advertiser, an afternoon newspaper that ceased publication in August 1979.
In November 1971, the Huntington Publishing Co. became part of Gannett Co. Inc.
Through the years, The Herald-Dispatch has won numerous Gannett and Associated Press awards, as well as other national and regional awards.
After 36 years of ownership by newspaper giant Gannett Co., The Herald-Dispatch, along with three other daily newspapers, was sold to GateHouse Media, Inc. That sale became final May 7, 2007.
After only four months under GateHouse Media, The Herald-Dispatch again was sold – this time to a local company, Champion Industries. That deal was finalized Sept. 15, 2007.
On July 12, 2013, The Herald-Dispatch was purchased by HD Media Company, LLC.
See more from The Herald-Dispatch
