 Entrance to the Daily Express building, constructed in 1930. | |
| Type | Biweekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | Carpenter Media Group |
| Publisher | Jim Hart |
| Editor | Marty Bachman |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters | 705 E. LaHarpeKirksville,Missouri 63501,United States |
| Website | kirksvilledailyexpress.com |
TheKirksville Daily Express is a bi-weekly newspaper published Wednesday and Saturday. It serves theKirksville andAdair County, Missouri area including the communities ofBrashear andNovinger. It is owned byCarpenter Media Group.
While newspapers in Adair County date back as early as 1856, theKirksville Daily Express had its beginnings in 1901 when the KirksvilleEvening Express was started by N. A. Matlick and J. Orton Rice. In 1906, under the new ownership of C. C. Howard, the name was changed to theKirksville Daily Express. In November, 1909 Howard sold it to a trio of businessmen led by E. E. Swain. Swain soon bought out his two partners and the newspaper would remain in the Swain family for the next eight decades. Edward Everett Swain, a native ofEwing, Illinois had considerable newspaper experience before coming to Kirksville. He previously worked for major publications inRochester, New York as well as theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch,St. Louis Globe-Democrat and theAssociated Press.[1]
Early notable events in the newspapers' history include joining theUnited Press Association in 1915 and the coming of news viateletypewriter in 1928. After working out of a number of rented building spaces for the first several years, in 1930 E. E. Swain constructed an art deco style building in downtown Kirksville. It, along with an addition constructed in 1964 to house anoffset printer, continues to serve as theExpress offices. Following Swain's death in 1972 ownership and operation of the newspaper passed to his son E. E. Swain, Jr.
In 1990 theDaily Express was sold toAmerican Publishing Company, although a Swain, E. E.'s grandson Tony, still remained as pressroom supervisor.Gatehouse Media (formerly Liberty Media Group) assumed operation of the newspaper in 1998. Faced with an aging offset press needing upgrade and growing consolidation in the newspaper industry, the decision was made in December, 2010 to shift printing of theKirksville Daily Express to a sister Gatehouse Media operation inHannibal, Missouri. Other than printing however all operations remain in Kirksville.
In August 2021,Gannett (formerly Gatehouse) sold the newspaper to Phillips Media Group.[2] The newspaper was sold again in August 2024 toCarpenter Media Group.[3]
