American newspaper group
Brush-Moore Newspapers Industry Media Founded 1927 Defunct 1967 Fate Acquired by Thomson Newspapers
Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc. was a United States newspaper group based in Ohio which had its origins in 1923 and was sold to Thomson Newspapers in 1967 for $72 million, the largest ever newspaper transaction at that time.[ 1] [ 2]
In 1923, Louis Herbert Brush, who had joined the Salem News (of Salem, Ohio ) as a manager in 1894 and purchased it in 1897,[ 3] entered into a partnership with Roy Donald Moore and William Henry Vodrey, Jr. to purchase The Marion Star from then-U.S. President Warren G. Harding .[ 4] [ 5] By 1924, Time magazine already noted the group as one of the prominent newspaper groups in the country, with four papers and a total circulation of 30,906.[ 6] In 1927, the "Brush-Moore" chain was created from their holdings.[ 3]
Brush and Moore
Joseph K. Vodrey, son of W.H. Vodrey Jr., became general manager of Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc. in 1946. Vodrey was Vice-President and a member of the Brush-Moore board of directors from 1951 to 1968, when he retired. He also served as Vice-President and as a Director of the Beaverkettle Company.
At the time of the 1967 sale, Brush-Moore owned 12 daily papers, including six in Ohio (the Canton Repository , East Liverpool Review , Salem News , Steubenville Herald , Marion Star , and Portsmouth Times ) three in California (Times-Standard , San Gabriel Valley Tribune , and Oxnard Press-Courier ), and one in Maryland (Salisbury Daily Times ), Pennsylvania (Hanover Evening Sun ), and West Virginia (Weirton Daily Times ), with a total circulation of approximately 540,000.[ 1] [ 7]
Salem News . Owned by Brush since 1897. Sold to Thomson in 1967.
East Liverpool Review . Acquired by Brush in 1901.[ 8] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
The Marion Star . Acquired in 1923 from President Warren G. Harding. Sold to Thomson in 1967.
Steubenville Herald Acquired 1925.[ 8] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
Canton Repository . Acquired 1927.[ 9] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
Portsmouth Times . Acquired 1930.[ 10] [ 11] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
Canton Daily News . Acquired and shut down this 97-year-old paper in 1930, leaving Brush-Moore with the only evening paper in the town.[ 12]
Ironton Tribune . Acquired 50% interest in 1930, and full ownership in 1955.[ 11] Sold in 1960s prior to sale to Thomson.[citation needed ]
Ohio Broadcasting Co. was a subsidiary of Brush-Moore which focused on radio interests.
WHBC (AM) (Canton, Ohio). Purchased 1936.
WPAY (AM) (Portsmouth, Ohio), acquired in 1944 through purchase of Scioto Broadcasting company.[ 8]
WONE (AM) (Dayton, Ohio). Purchased in 1961,[ 20] sold in 1964 to Group One Broadcasting.[ 21] [ 22]
WONE-FM (now WTUE ) (Dayton, Ohio). Purchased in 1961,[ 20] sold in 1964 to Group One Broadcasting.[ 21] [ 22]
WONE-TV (now WKEF ). Dayton television station, purchased in 1961,[ 20] sold in 1963 to Springfield Television .[ 23] [ 24]
WPDQ (Jacksonville, Florida). Sold in 1964 to Belk Broadcasting Co.[ 25]
^ a b Thomson Buys Paper Group , St. Petersburg Times (UPI ), August 26, 1967
^ Newspapers: Strength in the Afternoon , Time (magazine) , September 8, 1967
^ a b Louis H. Brush, 76, Publisher, Is Dead: Chairman of Board of Ohio Newspaper Chain is Stricken at Republican Convention , The New York Times , June 25, 1948
^ The Press: Ledger to Brush-Moore? , Time (magazine) , January 2, 1939
^ Roy Moore Dead; Ohio Publisher, 66 , The New York Times , May 2, 1954
^ The Press: Magnates , Time (magazine) , March 3, 1924 ("The group owned by Louis H. Brush, Roy D. Moore, and William H. Vodrey, Jr.: the Marion Star, the East Liverpool Tribune, the East Liverpool Review, the Salem News—total circulation 30,906 daily.")
^ 12 Brush-Moore Newspapers Sold to Thomson , The New York Times , August 26, 1967
^ a b c The National cyclopaedia of American biography , p.66 (1967)
^ Newspapers May Finance: Brush-Moore Chain Buys Two Publications in Canton , The New York Times , June 22, 1927 (reference to "two publications" in headline is to the Evening Repository and the Sunday Repository)
^ Harry E. Taylor, Ohio Editor, Dead , The New York Times , March 13, 1932 ("He sold the paper two years ago to the Brush-Moore interests")
^ a b Ownership Of Ironton Newspaper Passes To Brush-Moore Co. , Park City Daily News , May 13, 1955
^ COX SELLS CANTON NEWS.; Brush-Moore Group to Discontinue Paper Don Mellett Served , The New York Times , July 4, 1930
^ "Eastern Company Buys Paper in West Covina" . Los Angeles Times . March 17, 1960. p. 24. ProQuest 167601107 . Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
^ "Ohio Company Buys Oxnard Press-Courier" . Los Angeles Times . January 17, 1963. p. 21. ProQuest 168243424 . Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
^ Thompson, Mike (November 18, 2004). "Honoring the 150th Anniversary of the Times-Standard" . Congressional Record . 150 (133). Retrieved January 4, 2024 .
^ Maryland Papers Sold; Salisbury Journals Are Published Now by Brush-Moore , The New York Times , July 9, 1937
^ Out of the past: 25 years ago , Gettysburg Times , July 1, 1983
^ Welch, Jack. History of Hancock County , p.97 (1963)
^ The Arizona Star Is Sold Provisionally to Ohio Chain , November 26, 1964
^ a b c "The Media: Changing Hands" (PDF) . Broadcasting . March 27, 1961. pp. 78, 79. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
^ a b WONE Bought , Billboard (magazine) , October 24, 1964, p.26
^ a b Summit Radio Unit Acquires Dayton, Ohio, Radio Station , The Wall Street Journal , October 5, 1964 ("The sale leaves WHBC in Canton as the only radio affiliate of BrushMoore's subsidiary")
^ "The Media: Changing Hands" (PDF) . Broadcasting . December 16, 1963. p. 71. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
^ "For the Record: Ownership Changes" (PDF) . Broadcasting . December 16, 1963. p. 104. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
^ WPDQ Jacksonville sold for $750,000 , Broadcasting , Volume 66, pp. 9, 96 (1964)