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| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Avant Publications |
| Editor | Joe Soprano |
| Founded | 1879; 147 years ago (1879) |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 90 E. Market St. Wilkes-Barre,Pennsylvania 18701 United States |
| ISSN | 0199-0519 |
| Website | timesleader |
TheTimes Leader is a privately owned newspaper inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Founded in 1879, it was locally owned until being purchased byCapital Cities in 1978.
On November 27, 1907, theWilkes-Barre Times printed a notice that it and theWilkes-Barre Leader, both afternoon dailies, would merge, creating TheTimes Leader with the first newspaper to be dated Monday December 2, 1907.
TheTimes Leader, in the heart of coal country, was subject to a very bitter strike that began October 6, 1978. Over 200 union employees walked off the job in defiance of what they viewed asunion busting tactics by theTimes Leader's new corporate owner,Capital Cities. The four striking newspaper unions began to publish theCitizens' Voice as a strike paper.[citation needed]
Eventually the four unions were decertified. TheVoice continued publication. This in turn prompted competition and created the unusual environment whereWilkes-Barre, with its population of a little more than 43,000, now has two competing dailies. TheTimes Leader was steadily returned to its position of prominence as the leading daily in Luzerne County, both in editorial quality and paid circulation. After the strike began, Capital Cities persuaded a young, dynamic editor, Richard L. Connor, to become publisher. During his eight years running the newspaper, Connor and his staff dominated the state's newspapers with awards for writing, reporting, and photography. The paper also became among the most prominent corporate citizens.[citation needed]
TheTimes Leader became known around the US as a growth platform for young journalists, photographers, and newspaper executives. Connor moved on to restore the Fort WorthStar Telegram to strength as the Texas economy faltered in the mid-80s. His successor as publisher, Dale A. Duncan, became publisher of thePontiac, Michigan,Oakland Press, and then publisher ofThe Indianapolis Star. Duncan was followed by Mark Contreas who worked in several executive capacities with the Pulitzer Company before become head of the newspaper division for Scripps.[citation needed]
Capital Cities and theTimes Leader were purchased byThe Walt Disney Company in 1996. Disney in turn sold theTimes Leader toKnight Ridder in 1997.
The newspaper continued to prosper under Knight Ridder ownership. It started publishing a half-dozen zoned weekly sections for different parts of metro Wilkes-Barre, affectionately called the "Baby Leaders." It also actively battled theHazletonStandard-Speaker in southern Luzerne County with a heavily staffed bureau and daily zoned metro section.
The McClatchy Company acquired 32Knight Ridder newspapers, including theTimes-Leader, in March 2006. However, McClatchy quickly announced that it would resell a number of papers, including theTimes Leader.
On June 26, 2006, McClatchy announced its sale of theTimes Leader to Connor and investors including Frank Henry, Charles Parente, andHM Capital Partners, a Texas equity fund that seeks "investment opportunities in middle-market, cash generative businesses that have strong competitive positions with significant value creation opportunities." A handful of unidentified local business owners also acquired ownership stakes.
In 2007, to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, theTimes Leader engaged in a circulation-building initiative in which it agreed to donate some proceeds to local charities. The newspaper staff was recognized for its editorial quality with numerous awards this year both in the stateAssociated Press competition and at theKeystone Press Awards. Behind its dynamic writers and photographers theTimes Leader has gone on to win more Keystone Press Awards than any daily newspaper in theWyoming Valley area.[1]
The Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company—parent to theTimes Leader— purchased a Spanish-language newspaper,El Mensajero, in late 2007. It was the dominant Spanish-language newspaper in Northeastern Pennsylvania.El Mensajero folded in August 2011.[2]
TheTimes Leader grew its paid circulation by 1,500 daily subscribers and 1,300 Sunday subscribers for the first four months of 2008, again outpacing the industry. For the six months ending September 30, 2011, theAudit Bureau of Circulations put theTimes Leader's average daily paid circulation at 38,059 (M-S) and 59,273 (Sunday).
In 2011, the Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company reorganized into Impressions Media, with a strong focus on digital media. The company soon won a W3 Award for efforts in mobile media technology.
Later that year, publisher Richard L. Connor stepped down as publisher of theTimes Leader, but remained an investor.[citation needed]
In 2012,Impressions Media was acquired by the private equity firmVersa Capital Management.[3] Versa later merged its newspaper holdings intoCivitas Media.
In 2019, Civitas Media sold theTimes Leader to Avant Publications, a joint venture of Champion Media and MIDTC.[4]In 2021, long time employee Kerry Miscavage was named Times Leader Media Group Publisher.
