Daily Breeze
Encyclopedia
The Daily Breeze is a 70,000-circulation daily newspaper
published in Torrance, California
. It serves the South Bay
cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor".
community. Coverage eventually spread to other coastal cities, and by 1922, it had become a daily publication. In 1928, the Daily Breeze was purchased by Copley Press
. The competition went out-of-business in 1970 [TheTorrance Herald, 1913-1969].
In the late 1970s, reports began surfacing in the American media that the Copley Press was being used as a front by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Reporters Joe Trento and Dave Roman claimed that James S. Copley, who served as publisher until 1973, had cooperated with the CIA since its founding in 1947. They also reported that a subsidiary division, Copley News Service, was used in Latin America by the CIA as a front.
In 2005, it added to its circulation numbers through the purchase of two local weeklies, the Beach Reporter and Palos Verdes Peninsula News. In 2003, it created another weekly, More San Pedro, in the Harbor Area.
In Dec. 2006, the paper was sold to the Hearst Corporation
in a complex transaction that left the paper under the day-to-day control of Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group
and its subsidiary, the Los Angeles Newspaper Group
(LANG). Singleton announced that he would fold the paper into the LANG operations, but not cut salaries. Singleton will eventually come to own the Daily Breeze under a 2007 plan to acquire ownership of the paper as part of a swap with Hearst in which Hearst would trade some California papers and the St. Paul Pioneer Press
for an increased stake in Singleton's non-California operations.
In 2008, the paper ceased producing its weekly supplement, More San Pedro. Nine staff members were laid off at the same time including four reporters, a web editor, and a news room assistant.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
. It serves the South Bay
South Bay, Los Angeles
The South Bay is a region of the southwest peninsula of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The name stems from its geographic features stretching along the southern shores of Santa Monica Bay which forms its western border.The picture at right uses the broadest definition of the...
cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor".
Early history
The paper was founded as the weekly The Breeze in 1894 by local political activist S.D. Barkley and first served the local Redondo BeachRedondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
community. Coverage eventually spread to other coastal cities, and by 1922, it had become a daily publication. In 1928, the Daily Breeze was purchased by Copley Press
Copley Press
Copley Press was a privately held newspaper business, founded in Illinois, but later based in La Jolla, California. Its flagship paper was The San Diego Union-Tribune.-Pulitzer Prizes:...
. The competition went out-of-business in 1970 [TheTorrance Herald, 1913-1969].
In the late 1970s, reports began surfacing in the American media that the Copley Press was being used as a front by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Reporters Joe Trento and Dave Roman claimed that James S. Copley, who served as publisher until 1973, had cooperated with the CIA since its founding in 1947. They also reported that a subsidiary division, Copley News Service, was used in Latin America by the CIA as a front.
Modern history
Like most of the newspaper industry, the Daily Breeze has suffered its share of hardships, with the rise of free news on the Internet and the competitive Los Angeles media market. It merged with the (San Pedro) News-Pilot in 1999.In 2005, it added to its circulation numbers through the purchase of two local weeklies, the Beach Reporter and Palos Verdes Peninsula News. In 2003, it created another weekly, More San Pedro, in the Harbor Area.
In Dec. 2006, the paper was sold to the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
in a complex transaction that left the paper under the day-to-day control of Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group
MediaNews Group
MediaNews Group, based in Denver, Colorado, is one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States. It is privately owned and operates 56 daily newspapers in 12 states, with combined daily and Sunday circulation of approximately 2.4 million and 2.7 million, respectively...
and its subsidiary, the Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Los Angeles Newspaper Group
The Los Angeles Newspaper Group is an umbrella group of local daily newspapers published in the greater Los Angeles area by MediaNews Group. The news coverage of the newspapers are mainly local stories. The newspapers contain some national and international news, often from the Associated Press...
(LANG). Singleton announced that he would fold the paper into the LANG operations, but not cut salaries. Singleton will eventually come to own the Daily Breeze under a 2007 plan to acquire ownership of the paper as part of a swap with Hearst in which Hearst would trade some California papers and the St. Paul Pioneer Press
St. Paul Pioneer Press
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the eastern metro region, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and Anoka County,...
for an increased stake in Singleton's non-California operations.
In 2008, the paper ceased producing its weekly supplement, More San Pedro. Nine staff members were laid off at the same time including four reporters, a web editor, and a news room assistant.
External links
- The Daily Breeze
- The Daily Breeze archive search