The Charleston Gazette
Encyclopedia
The Charleston Gazette is a five-day morning newspaper
in Charleston, West Virginia
. It is published Monday through Friday mornings. On Saturday and Sunday mornings the combined Charleston Gazette-Mail
is published, which is, more or less, similar to the Gazette.
The Gazette was established in 1873. At the time, it was a weekly newspaper known as the Kanawha Chronicle. It had a couple of other owners and names—The Kanawha Gazette and the Daily Gazette—before its name was officially changed to The Charleston Gazette in 1907.
The Chilton family acquired formal interest in the paper in 1912. William E. Chilton
, a U.S. senator, was publisher of The Gazette, as were his son, William E. Chilton II, and grandson, W. E. "Ned" Chilton III, Yale graduate and classmate/protégé of conservative columnist William F. Buckley, Jr.
. The paper carried Buckley's column, which was 180 degrees politically different from all other material in the paper, until Buckley's death.
In 1918 a fire destroyed the Gazette building at 909 Virginia St. The newspaper was moved to 227 Hale St., where it remained for 42 years.
Under a consolidation agreement, which eventually became a Joint Operating Agreement with the afternoon Charleston Daily Mail
, the newspaper merged its production and distribution with that newspaper from 1961-2004. The two newspapers had different ownership and writing staffs, but jointly owned the production and distribution company, Charleston Newspapers Inc.
A year later, following the death of Robert L. Smith, W.E. "Ned" Chilton III was named publisher of the Gazette. He served in that position until his death in 1987.
During that time he earned a well-deserved reputation as a "firebrand liberal." Ned Chilton used to say that the job of a newspaper was to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." However, in 1972, the newspaper lost some of its blue-collar workers who went on strike in an attempt to prevent the coming of electronic printing.
Former West Virginia
Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr.
, a staunch Republican who both won and lost an election to John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV
, derisively renamed The Charleston Gazette "The Morning Sick Call". This was in reference to the Gazettes reporting of constiantly negative articles about life in the state. (Moore was later convicted by the Republican United States Attorney
of income tax evasion, perjury, election fraud and taking more than $500,000 from a coal operator for state favors.)
Ned Chilton's widow, Elizabeth Early "Betty" Chilton, is now president of the Daily Gazette Co. and publisher of The Charleston Gazette. It is still a family-owned newspaper, one of the few independents still operating. The paper's editor, prize-winning journalist James A. Haught, has been with the paper for more than 50 years.
The paper has won numerous awards and received significant national recognition for a newspaper of its size. Recent efforts that have received such recognition include a series of stories that resulted in the resignation and criminal conviction of the state House of Delegates education chairman, a series on the environmental effects of mountaintop removal coal mining, a series on the state's "failed" attempts to deal with its residents suffering from mental illness, and a series on the deaths nationwide from the widespread use of methadone.
In May 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the owners of Daily Gazette Company for its purchase of the Daily Mail's financial interests, alleging that the Daily Mail had been operated in an uncompetitive manner. The newspaper settled without trial and agreed to various oversight issues.
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...
in Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
. It is published Monday through Friday mornings. On Saturday and Sunday mornings the combined Charleston Gazette-Mail
Charleston Gazette-Mail
The Charleston Gazette-Mail is a Saturday and Sunday newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia, USA. It is published by a joint venture between the Charleston Gazette and the Charleston Daily Mail which publish editorially rival, but non-competitive, in business terms, papers on weekdays.-Sunday:In...
is published, which is, more or less, similar to the Gazette.
The Gazette was established in 1873. At the time, it was a weekly newspaper known as the Kanawha Chronicle. It had a couple of other owners and names—The Kanawha Gazette and the Daily Gazette—before its name was officially changed to The Charleston Gazette in 1907.
The Chilton family acquired formal interest in the paper in 1912. William E. Chilton
William E. Chilton
William Edwin Chilton was a United States Senator from West Virginia. Born in Colesmouth, Virginia , he attended public and private schools and graduated from Shelton College in St. Albans. He taught school, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1880, commencing practice in Charleston, West...
, a U.S. senator, was publisher of The Gazette, as were his son, William E. Chilton II, and grandson, W. E. "Ned" Chilton III, Yale graduate and classmate/protégé of conservative columnist William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
. The paper carried Buckley's column, which was 180 degrees politically different from all other material in the paper, until Buckley's death.
In 1918 a fire destroyed the Gazette building at 909 Virginia St. The newspaper was moved to 227 Hale St., where it remained for 42 years.
Under a consolidation agreement, which eventually became a Joint Operating Agreement with the afternoon Charleston Daily Mail
Charleston Daily Mail
The Charleston Daily Mail is a Pulitzer Prize winning Monday-Friday morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia.-Publishing History:The Daily Mail was founded in 1914 by former Alaska Gov. Walter Eli Clark and remained the property of his heirs until 1987. Governor Clark described the newspaper...
, the newspaper merged its production and distribution with that newspaper from 1961-2004. The two newspapers had different ownership and writing staffs, but jointly owned the production and distribution company, Charleston Newspapers Inc.
A year later, following the death of Robert L. Smith, W.E. "Ned" Chilton III was named publisher of the Gazette. He served in that position until his death in 1987.
During that time he earned a well-deserved reputation as a "firebrand liberal." Ned Chilton used to say that the job of a newspaper was to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." However, in 1972, the newspaper lost some of its blue-collar workers who went on strike in an attempt to prevent the coming of electronic printing.
Former West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr.
Arch A. Moore, Jr.
Arch Alfred Moore, Jr. was the 28th and 30th Governor of West Virginia from 1969 until 1977 and from 1985 until 1989. He was a Congressman from 1957 until entering the governor's office. He is a member of the United States Republican Party. He ran for reelection in 1988, but was defeated by...
, a staunch Republican who both won and lost an election to John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV
Jay Rockefeller
John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV is the senior United States Senator from West Virginia. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as Governor of West Virginia, a position he held from 1977 to 1985...
, derisively renamed The Charleston Gazette "The Morning Sick Call". This was in reference to the Gazettes reporting of constiantly negative articles about life in the state. (Moore was later convicted by the Republican United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
of income tax evasion, perjury, election fraud and taking more than $500,000 from a coal operator for state favors.)
Ned Chilton's widow, Elizabeth Early "Betty" Chilton, is now president of the Daily Gazette Co. and publisher of The Charleston Gazette. It is still a family-owned newspaper, one of the few independents still operating. The paper's editor, prize-winning journalist James A. Haught, has been with the paper for more than 50 years.
The paper has won numerous awards and received significant national recognition for a newspaper of its size. Recent efforts that have received such recognition include a series of stories that resulted in the resignation and criminal conviction of the state House of Delegates education chairman, a series on the environmental effects of mountaintop removal coal mining, a series on the state's "failed" attempts to deal with its residents suffering from mental illness, and a series on the deaths nationwide from the widespread use of methadone.
In May 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the owners of Daily Gazette Company for its purchase of the Daily Mail's financial interests, alleging that the Daily Mail had been operated in an uncompetitive manner. The newspaper settled without trial and agreed to various oversight issues.