| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | Weeklys |
| Founder | J.A. Cottle |
| Publisher | Jeanie Johnson |
| President | Dan Pulcrano |
| Editor | Todd Guild |
| Founded | 1868 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Watsonville, California |
| Circulation | 5,000 |
| OCLC number | 34563444 |
| Website | pajaronian |
The Pajaronian (formerly theRegister-Pajaronian) is a newspaper based inWatsonville, California inSanta Cruz County onCalifornia'sCentral Coast.[1] It is published weekly every Friday and owned byWeeklys.
In March 1868, J.A. Cottle published the first issue ofThe Pajaronian for residents of thePajaro Valley.[2] Later that year, Cotte was assaulted by the owner of a whiskey-mill after reporting thatOscar Penn Fitzgerald went to a saloon to drink whiskey, which he later denied.[3][4] In 1872,The Pajaronian was acquired by C.O. Cummings, who sold it in 1875 to W.R. Radcliff.[5]
In 1876, S.A. Jones founded a rival paper called theWatsonville Transcript.[6][7] William H. Wheeler became the owner in 1880.[8] George W. Peckham then became editor and manager while Wheeler remained as proprietor.[9] Two years later, G.W. Peckham became the owner[10] and was succeeded in 1892 by Charles E. Peckham.[11] Two years later he launched a daily edition of theTranscript called theWatsonville Daily Register.[12] In 1901, the papers were sold to C.W. Clough.[13]
In 1901, W.R. Radcliff sold the weeklyPajaronian to his brother George D. Radclif and James G. Piratsky. At that time the paper was expanded to a daily and became a member of theUnited Press.[5] In May 1904,Charles H. Prisk, formerly ofGrass Valley Union, bought theRegister.[14] Later that year he bought thePasadena Star after the owner died and left Watsonville, leaving theRegister to his bookkeeper Ernest H. Haack.[15][16] In 1919, Haack sold theRegister to Fred W. Atkinson, former owner of theBenicia Herald.[17] Atkinson was elected Watsonville mayor in 1921 and served three consecutive terms.[18] In 1930, Piratsky and Radcliff sold theWatsonville EveningPajaronian to Atkinson, owner of theWatsonville Morning Register.[5]
After Atkinson died,[18] his widow sold both papers in 1937 to Fred H. Jenkins and Robert C. Everts who were associated with theJohn P. Scripps Newspaper Group.[19] TheRegister andPajaronian were soon merged to form theRegister-Pajaronian.[20] It competed with another paper called theWatsonville Morning Sun until the Scripps chain bought it in 1940 and absorbed theSun into theRegister-Pajaronian.[21]
In 1956, theRegister-Pajaronian won thePulitzer Prize for Public Service for an investigative series by photographer Sam Vestal, working under the leadership of its longtime editor Frank Orr and with assistance of Watsonville Police Chief Frank Osmer. These revelations led to the resignation of Santa Cruz County District Attorney Charles Moore, and the arrest and conviction of one of his associates.[22][23][24]
In 1995,Scripps Howard sold theRegister-Pajaronian toNews Media Corporation.[25][26] In 2003, under the leadership of editor Jon Chown,[27] articles by reporter Dave M. Brooks led to the ousting of Watsonville Mayor Richard de La Paz[28] for his involvement in a bar room brawl. De la Cruz was later sentenced to six months in jail.[29] In 2019, NMC sold theRegister-Pajaronian toMetro Newspapers.[30][31] Under the direction of longtime Bay Area publisherDan Pulcrano, the staff was retained but some changes were made. Its original name,The Pajaronian, was restored, a new logo was introduced, the office was moved back to downtown Watsonville and a weekly lifestyle magazine,Pajaro Valley, began publishing.[30][32]
