 Idaho Press headquarters in 2018 | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Adams Publishing Group |
| Publisher | Matt Tranquill |
| Founded | 1883 (asCaldwell Tribune) |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 1618 N. Midland Blvd. Nampa, Idaho 83651 United States |
| Circulation | 19,792 (as of 2021)[1] |
| Website | idahopress |
The Idaho Press ofNampa,Idaho is the second-oldest active newspaper in Idaho, first printed in December 1883. In its early years, the newspaper was often an instrument of political influence. One of the first owners and editors wasFrank Steunenberg.
The Caldwell Tribune was founded by W. J. Cuddy in December 1883, and the newspaper originally was printed at 509 Market Avenue (Main Street) inCaldwell, Idaho.[2] TheIdaho Statesman said of the six-column weekly, "[It] presents a newsy appearance."[3] In June 1884, Cuddy offered theTribune for sale,[4] and the paper sold in May 1886[5] to publisher George P. Wheeler, who sold the paper to brothers Al and Frank Steunenberg in 1887.[2] In 1893 the Steunenbergs soldThe Caldwell Tribune to R. H. Davis, former publisher of theMalad Enterprise,[6] although Al Steunenberg continued to manage the mechanical department.[7][8] C. J. Shorb became a partner at theTribune in 1902, but the partnership was dissolved in 1903, the year in which the Tribune Printing & Publishing Co. was formed.[2]
On April 12, 1928,The Caldwell Tribune andThe Caldwell News, owned by the Shorb family, merged to become theCaldwell News-Tribune.[2] Later owners Aden Hyde and F. H. Michaelson sold theNews-Tribune in 1937 to a corporation managed by J. T. LaFond, formerly of theNampa Free Press.[9]
Jake Horn founded theNampa Leader in April, 1891,[10] and he sold the paper to F. G. Mock in 1893.[11] A. W. Lightbourne purchased the paper in 1899,[12] but after two months as publisher he abandoned the paper and moved toBoise.[13] H. W. Mansfield then purchased theLeader, and in 1900 he bought the printing plant of the formerNampa Progress, published by Daniel Bacon until his death in 1896.[14][15] Mansfield sold theLeader to Ned Jenness in 1907, and his son, Herold Jenness, later became editor.[16] After the Jenness family began publishing the paper, its name was changed to theNampa Leader-Herald.[17] Lewis B. Jenness, brother of Ned Jenness, became publisher in 1928.[18] He had been publisher of theLeader-Herald earlier in 1910 while his brother held political office. He owned theWeiser American prior to returning to Nampa in 1928.[19]
Lucien P. Arant and Bernard Mainwaring purchased theNampa Leader-Herald in 1937 and consolidated the paper into its rival, theNampa Free Press.[9] TheLeader-Herald ceased publication as a daily newspaper on August 28, 1937, although Mainwaring briefly considered operating the paper as a weekly.[20] Within days of the sale, theIdaho Free Press announced that it would occupy the offices of the formerNampa Leader-Herald.[21]
The Co-Operative Publishing Company of Nampa began printing theIdaho Free Press in April 1919.[22] Closely aligned with theNonpartisan League of Idaho, the newspaper was an early supporter ofsocialist andProgressive Party causes, and marketing favored farmers and workers. Editor W. G. Scholtz resigned in February 1920, replaced by W. V. Wiegand fromThe Pocatello Herald.[23] In 1922,H. F. Samuels bought a controlling interest in the paper, by then also known as theNampa Free Press.[24] The dailyFree Press became an evening paper in the early 1920s, but it returned to the daily format in 1923, only to switch format again in 1929.[25] Mainwaring bought the paper in 1937 and remained in charge until 1953, when he sold theFree Press and purchased theCapital Journal inSalem, Oregon.[26] Under Mainwaring's leadership, theFree Press migrated from a flatbed press to a modern rotary press.[27]
TheScripps League bought theIdaho Free Press in 1954 and theCaldwell News Tribune in 1956. The official ownership was handed toPioneer Newspapers in 1975. TheIdaho Free Press and theCaldwell News Tribune merged in 1980. Pioneer sold its papers toAdams Publishing Group in 2017.[28]
In 2018, theIdaho Press-Tribune shortened its name toIdaho Press.[29] The paper also expanded into the Boise market and acquired theBoise Weekly. TheIdaho Press is the state's largest printed newspaper.[30] It had a circulation of 20,382 as of August 1, 2020.[31]