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 The July 27, 2005 front page of the Rutland Herald | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Sample News Group |
| Publisher | Ed Coats |
| Editor | Jim Sabataso |
| Founded | 1794 |
| Headquarters | 77 Grove Street Rutland,VT 05702 United States |
| Circulation | 9,100 (as of 2021)[1] |
| Website | rutlandherald.com |
TheRutland Herald, previously called theRutland Daily Herald, is the second largest daily newspaper in theU.S. state ofVermont (afterThe Burlington Free Press). It is published inRutland with its source of news geared towards the southern part of the state, along with theBrattleboro Reformer and theBennington Banner. TheRutland Herald is the sister paper of theBarre Montpelier Times Argus.[2]
The Williams–Williams partnership launched theHerald as a weekly on December 8, 1794.[3] The Rev. Samuel Williams (1743–1800) was aFederalist;[citation needed] his newspaper barely touched upon local news. Judge Samuel Williams (1756–1800) was a distant cousin and political leader of early Vermont. Both are buried on North Main Street in Rutland in the same cemetery. In the era of printing, William Fay (1797–1840) put out papers that were largely devoted to biblical parables, fables, poems andhomilies.
George Beaman (1844–1856) provided welcome invigoration for political and technological reasons. He was an abolitionist who wanted to influence his Whig party (which soon became the Republican party) with anti-slavery sentiments. Due to Beaman'sboosterism, the railroad was routed through Rutland.
During the era of George and Albert Tuttle (father and son, 1856–1882), theHerald moved to daily publication when theCivil War began and provided some distinguished reportage on the war. In 1877, a major competitor, theGlobe, and theHerald merged. Seeking new investors, Albert Tuttle netted P. W. Clement; Clement owned theHerald from 1882 to 1927. A Rutland native, Clement also ownedRutland Railroad, the Clement National Bank, New York real estate interests and abrokerage house. He used his newspaper to support his own projects and political views. He had a rivalry with the Proctor family of theVermont Marble Co. Clement held several political offices and ran for governor three times before being elected in 1918 at the age of 73.
During William H. Field and his son William's (1927–1947) time, also a Rutland native, Field had a career as an executive with theChicago Tribune and was co-founder of the nation's largest-circulation newspaper, theNew York Daily News, before returning to Rutland on the death of his father-in-law, Clement, in 1927. At theHerald, he started an advertising department, modernized business operations, and wrote the annual "Lilac Time" editorial. Bill Field engaged a distinguished typographer to re-design the paper, and he moved theHerald into its present Wales Street building.
Mitchell started at theHerald in 1935 as a Vermont Press Bureau reporter in Montpelier, later became editor in 1941, and was acting publisher during World War II, when Field enlisted. Rutland was hit by a massive flood in 1947, losing railroad infrastructure and stoneworking andsmokestack industries.[4] In 1950, he launched some 10,000 editorials over 40 years that promoted the economy and industrial diversification of Rutland. Mitchell opposed "chain" newspapers, but theHerald in 1964 acquired the Barre-MontpelierTimes Argus to keep it in local ownership. In 1975, his papers launched a joint Sunday edition. In 1986, the Mitchells acquired the Noble interests in both papers, fending off interest from national newspaper chains based on a Noble–Mitchell handshake agreement. Bob Mitchell died in 1993, and his son, R. John Mitchell, publisher since 1978 of theTimes Argus, succeeded his father asHerald publisher.
In 2016, the Mitchell family sold theHerald andTimes Argus to Vermont Community Media, owned by businessmen Chip Harris of New Hampshire andReade Brower of Maine. In 2018, Vermont Community Media sold theHerald andTimes Argus toSample News Group, who owns theEagle Times.[5]
In 2001, theHerald won aPulitzer Prize for the work of journalist David Moats.[6] Given for his series ofeditorials defending thecivil union decision in Vermont, this was the first Pulitzer given to the state for journalism.
Award-winning cartoonistJeff Danziger started his career with theHerald in 1975 and still contributes editorial cartoons[7] and a weekly serial titled 'The Teeds: Tales of Agriculture for the Young and Old'.[8]
Susan Youngwood's 2007 article[9] detailing the anti-Wikipedia stance of professors atMiddlebury College has become a commonly cited description of thelack of expertise of Wikipedia editors.
