 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Gannett |
| Publisher | Andy Fisher |
| Editor | Taima Kern |
| Founded | 1853 (asThe Appleton Crescent) |
| Headquarters | 306 W. Washington St. Appleton,WI 54911  United States |
| Circulation | 14,574 (as of 2022)[1] |
| Website | postcrescent |
The Post-Crescent is a dailynewspaper based inAppleton, Wisconsin. Part of theGannett chain of newspapers, it is primarily distributed in counties surrounding the Appleton/Fox Cities area.
The Appleton Crescent was formed in 1853 as a weekly newspaper, the same year that Appleton became a village.[2] TheCrescent was a determinedly Democratic newspaper, created bySamuel, James and John Ryan.[2]Edna Ferber, later a famed writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, became a reporter at the Appleton Crescent at the age of 17 and worked there for about 18 months, approximately 1902-1903.
TheCrescent'sJacksonian Democratic politics upsetRepublicans, and a second newspaper,The Appleton Motor, was formed byF.C. Meade on August 18, 1859. Meade was soon joined by Ryan's brother Francis.[2]
While the two newspapers were bitter rivals, they did cooperate at times. When theCrescent suffered serious damage in 1863 from apparent arson, theMotor ran an article condemning the act. TheMotor changed its name toThe Appleton Post in 1887 after changing hands several times. ThePost's buildings were damaged that year, and donations from theCrescent kept the paper open.
The Appleton Post-Crescent was formed when thePost and theCrescent merged on February 2, 1920. The first paper was published on February 10, 1920. Editors decided to not align with either political party.[2]
The Appleton Post-Crescent decided to purchase theTwin City News-Record, which had been formed when theMenasha Record and theNeenah News Times merged in 1949. The "Appleton" portion of the name was removed in 1964 to reflect that the newspaper reached farther than the city limits.[2]
Publisher V.I. Minahan coined the term "theFox Cities" in 1953, which is now a common term to describe the metropolitan Appleton area.[2]
Post Publishing owned the newspaper from 1920 until it was purchased byGillett Communications on August 1, 1984, and was also a former owner ofWLUK (Channel 11) inGreen Bay, Wisconsin,Marquette, Michigan'sWLUC (Channel 6),WEAU (Channel 13) inEau Claire, andRochester, New York'sWOKR (Channel 13). Gillett sold the newspaper four months later toThomson Newspapers, while the television stations were sold to various parties. Thomson owned the paper until it was sold toGannett on July 21, 2000.[2]
In January 2018, Gannett announced plans to move thePost-Crescent's printing operation from Appleton to Gannett's facility in Milwaukee.[3] In May 2022, Gannettshifted the printing of the Post-Crescent and all the chain's Wisconsin newspapers to Peoria, Illinois.
The circulation at the 1920 merger was 7,000. It grew to 40,000 by 1960 (when Appleton's population was 48,000).[2] The circulation in 2003 was 53,600 on weekdays, more than 61,000 on Saturdays and nearly 70,000 on Sundays.[2]
