| Type | Twice weeklynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | Digital First Media |
| Editor | Aura Whittaker |
| Founded | 1892; 134 years ago (1892) |
| Language | English |
| City | Willits, California |
| Country | United States |
| Sister newspapers | Ukiah Daily Journal |
| OCLC number | 35303427 |
| Website | willitsnews |
The Willits News is a twice weekly newspaper coveringWillits, California and northernMendocino County. It has been reporting on the community since 1892. It operates out of the offices of theUkiah Daily Journal.[1]
The Willits News was founded in March 1892. It was owned by L. Kentworthy along with H.F. and A.L. Finnell. Kentworthy served as its first editor and manager.[2] By June, editor Mast was the owner.[3] The paper ceased that October.[4] It was relaunched by Weeks & Curtis in March 1893.[5] Five years later a fire entirely destroyed several buildings in Willits including the paper's office.[6]
In December 1904, Fred N. Loring moved to Mendocino County and started a weekly paper inCovelo called theCovelo Review.[7] He had previously operated theBee inLakeport.[8] In March 1905, W. A. Roberts took charge of theNews as manager and editor, succeeding James E. Nugent.[9][10] Later that year Parker Hall bought Harry McElroy's interest in the business.[11] Dr. Litftchild owned theNews for several months In 1907 before agreeing to sell it to Charles G. Halliday, who then planned to move it to the county seat ofUkiah.[12] After Halliday suffered a severe attack ofrheumatism, Litftchild instead sold the paper to Loring, who then merged theReview into theNews and moved to Willitis to operate the paper.[13]
At some point Bernard Moore bought a half-interest but sold it back to Loring in 1915.[14] In 1922, Loring sold the paper to Harry Elliott.[15] Loring later returned to the paper as editor in November 1927.[16] A few months later it was reported Loring reacquired theNews.[17] A month later Loring told theUkiah Dispatch Democrat that Elliott sold the paper to Ms. Amy Requa Long, with Edward Morris as editor and C.H. Hammond as business manager.[18]
Albert "Bert" C. Hammond bought the paper in 1928.[19] Loring returned to the paper again in 1936 to work for Hammond as editor.[20] Hammond broke his arm in a fall a few years later.[21] He sold theNews in November 1947 to Troy L. Maness.[22] Hammond died a year later.[19] In April 1959, Robert F. Gerber, owner of theUkiah News,Noyo News andPaul Bunyan News inFort Bragg, purchased theWillits News from Troy Maness and Lee Kentworthy. TheNoyo News was absorbed into theWillits News and Joseph C. Murphy was hired as editor.[23] In October 1960, Gerber and Ben A. Cober, owner of theUkiah Daily Journal, merged their businesses together but kept the papers separate. It was an effort to reduce costs through consolidation.[24][25]
In April 1968, the paper's editor Paul Alan Davis was hospitalized after his pickup truck crashed and flipped over several times.[26] A month later theNews and theJournal were sold by Cober and Gerber to the newly formed Mendocino Publishing Company, with Malcolm D. Glover, of Ventura, as its president. At the time the weeklyNews had a 2,000 circulation and the dailyJournal had a 5,000 circulation.[27] In 1973, Glover sold theNews to a group of Willits residents who formed The Willits News, Inc., with Albert B. Canepa as its president.[28] The sale price was $74,244. A year later the new owners sued Glover for $25,000 in punitive damages for violating an agreement for theJournal to not solicit ad sales in Willits.[29]
In 1994, Times Publishing Company, owner of theErie Times-News, acquired theNews and laid off all 20 employees.[30] In 2001, the company sold the paper, along with theLake County Record-Bee andClear Lake Observer-American, to the California Newspaper Partnership, managed by theMediaNews Group. The new owners also published the nearbyUkiah Daily Journal.[31] MediaNews Group is a subsidiary ofAlden Global Capital.[1][32]