Brush-Moore Newspapers

American newspaper group

Brush-Moore NewspapersIndustry| 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]

## Holdings

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### Ohio

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* 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]

### California

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* San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Acquired 1960.[13] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
* Oxnard Press-Courier. Acquired 1963.[14] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
* Times-Standard (Eureka). Acquired in 1967, and sold to Thomson the same year.[15]

### Other

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* Salisbury Daily Times (Maryland). Acquired 1937.[16] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
* Hanover Evening Sun (Pennsylvania). Acquired 1958.[17] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
* Weirton Daily Times. Acquired 1962.[18] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
* In 1964, Brush-Moore attempted to purchase the Arizona Daily Star.[19]

### Radio

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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]

## References

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1. ^ a b Thomson Buys Paper Group, St. Petersburg Times (UPI), August 26, 1967
2. ^ Newspapers: Strength in the Afternoon, Time (magazine), September 8, 1967
3. ^ 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
4. ^ The Press: Ledger to Brush-Moore?, Time (magazine), January 2, 1939
5. ^ Roy Moore Dead; Ohio Publisher, 66, The New York Times, May 2, 1954
6. ^ 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.")
7. ^ 12 Brush-Moore Newspapers Sold to Thomson, The New York Times, August 26, 1967
8. ^ a b c The National cyclopaedia of American biography, p.66 (1967)
9. ^ 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)
10. ^ 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")
11. ^ a b Ownership Of Ironton Newspaper Passes To Brush-Moore Co., Park City Daily News, May 13, 1955
12. ^ COX SELLS CANTON NEWS.; Brush-Moore Group to Discontinue Paper Don Mellett Served, The New York Times, July 4, 1930
13. ^ "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.
14. ^ "Ohio Company Buys Oxnard Press-Courier". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1963. p. 21\. ProQuest 168243424. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
15. ^ Thompson, Mike (November 18, 2004). "Honoring the 150th Anniversary of the Times-Standard". Congressional Record. 150 (133). Retrieved January 4, 2024.
16. ^ Maryland Papers Sold; Salisbury Journals Are Published Now by Brush-Moore, The New York Times, July 9, 1937
17. ^ Out of the past: 25 years ago, Gettysburg Times, July 1, 1983
18. ^ Welch, Jack. History of Hancock County, p.97 (1963)
19. ^ The Arizona Star Is Sold Provisionally to Ohio Chain, November 26, 1964
20. ^ a b c "The Media: Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 27, 1961. pp. 78, 79. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
21. ^ a b WONE Bought, Billboard (magazine), October 24, 1964, p.26
22. ^ 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")
23. ^ "The Media: Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 16, 1963. p. 71. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
24. ^ "For the Record: Ownership Changes" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 16, 1963. p. 104. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via American Radio History.
25. ^ WPDQ Jacksonville sold for $750,000, Broadcasting, Volume 66, pp. 9, 96 (1964)