| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | AIM Media Texas |
| Publisher | Patrick Canty |
| Editor | Laura Dennis |
| Founded | 1940 (asThe Odessa American) |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 700 N. Grant Ave., Suite 800, Odessa, TX 79761-4590 United States |
| Circulation | 4,182 (as of 2023)[1] |
| Website | oaoa.com |
TheOdessa American is a newspaper based inOdessa, Texas, that serves Odessa and the rest ofEctor County.[2]
The paper is particularly notable for itsPulitzer Prize-winning picture ofBaby Jessica McClure when she was rescued from her well in neighboringMidland, Texas.[3]
TheAmerican was owned byFreedom Communications until 2012, when Freedom papers in Texas were sold toAIM Media Texas.[4]
In 1895, William C. "Uncle Billy" Griffin came to Odessa from Midland and began publishing Ector County's first newspaper, the OdessaWeekly News.
TheWeekly News lasted only one year, and was followed by six other short-lived weekly publications until August 1927, when production of OdessaTimes and OdessaNews began. In October 1928, the two weekly papers were merged as the OdessaNews-Times.
The towns of Penwell and Goldsmith supported, for a short time during oil boom of the 1930s, the only Ector County newspaper known to have been published outside Odessa.
The first daily newspaper, theDaily Bulletin, began in 1936, and theNews-Times followed in 1937. On October 2, 1940, R. Henderson Shuffler consolidated theDaily Bulletin and theNews-Times into theOdessa American, which he sold on Aug. 11, 1945.
Ownership of the newspaper changed twice before Aug. 13, 1948, when it was purchased byRaymond C. Hoiles of Freedom Newspapers, Inc.
That company, which later became Freedom Communications, sold theOdessa American along with its other Texas properties to AIM Media Texas, LLC, on May 18, 2012.[4]
TheOdessa American has withstood brief competition from five newspapers since its first publication. It was published at 222 E. Fourth St. from 1951 to 2018.[5] On November 30, 2018, theOdessa American moved to new, more modern offices at 4001 E. 42nd St., Suite 200, in Odessa. On August 30, 2019, theOdessa American moved back to downtown Odessa to 700 N. Grant Ave., Suite 800, in the Bank of America building.
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