The Progress-Index
Encyclopedia
The Progress-Index is a daily newspaper published in Petersburg
, Virginia
. It is published Monday through Friday afternoon (actually, late morning) and Saturday and Sunday morning.
, a privately held media company based in Scranton
, Pennsylvania
. Its current building, at 15 Franklin St. in downtown Petersburg, was built in 1921, along with what was then a state-of-the-art press. This was before the merger of the two papers into The Index-Appeal & Evening Progress, shortened to The Progress-Index in 1923.
The P-I was a "true" afternoon paper Monday through Saturday until 2005, when its production schedule switched to that of a typical morning paper, in that the pages were laid out and prepared for printing the night before. It remained different from other a.m. papers in one respect, in that, Monday through Friday, the press didn't run until the morning of the day the paper came out, at about 9:30. The paper is distributed in the late morning and early afternoon, Monday through Friday, and the Saturday edition is now a true morning paper, in that it is printed the night before. The Sunday paper has always been done that way. This is typical, as the concept of a Sunday afternoon paper has been virtually nonexistent throughout the history of American newspapers. Normally, the only time the P-I takes advantage of the fact that it prints in the morning is on Election Day, when voters are pictured at the polls. Other than that, only exceptional circumstances cause the P-I to print something that happened on the day the paper is distributed.
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. It is published Monday through Friday afternoon (actually, late morning) and Saturday and Sunday morning.
History
The paper's roots trace to 1865, but its current moniker came about through the early-1920s merger of the Index-Appeal and the Evening Progress. It was owned by various Petersburg businessmen until 1959, when Thomson Newspapers of Canada purchased it. Thomson owned The Progress-Index until 1997, when it sold it to Times-Shamrock CommunicationsTimes-Shamrock Communications
Times-Shamrock Communications is an American media company based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company, owned by the Lynett and Haggerty families of Scranton, lists among its assets seven daily newspapers, over 20 weekly newspapers, and 12 radio stations...
, a privately held media company based in Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Its current building, at 15 Franklin St. in downtown Petersburg, was built in 1921, along with what was then a state-of-the-art press. This was before the merger of the two papers into The Index-Appeal & Evening Progress, shortened to The Progress-Index in 1923.
The P-I was a "true" afternoon paper Monday through Saturday until 2005, when its production schedule switched to that of a typical morning paper, in that the pages were laid out and prepared for printing the night before. It remained different from other a.m. papers in one respect, in that, Monday through Friday, the press didn't run until the morning of the day the paper came out, at about 9:30. The paper is distributed in the late morning and early afternoon, Monday through Friday, and the Saturday edition is now a true morning paper, in that it is printed the night before. The Sunday paper has always been done that way. This is typical, as the concept of a Sunday afternoon paper has been virtually nonexistent throughout the history of American newspapers. Normally, the only time the P-I takes advantage of the fact that it prints in the morning is on Election Day, when voters are pictured at the polls. Other than that, only exceptional circumstances cause the P-I to print something that happened on the day the paper is distributed.