Morning Sentinel
 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) |
|
| Editor |
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| Founded | March 3, 1904, as Waterville Morning Sentinel |
| Headquarters | 31 Front Street, Waterville, Maine 04901, United States |
| Circulation | 13,922 daily |
| OCLC number | 38243825 |
| Website | centralmaine.com |
The Morning Sentinel is an American daily newspaper published six mornings a week in Waterville, Maine. Printed at the Portland Press Herald press in South Portland, Maine, it covers cities and towns in parts of Franklin, Kennebec, Penobscot and Somerset counties.
The publication was run between 2000 and 2023 by MaineToday Media. In August 2023, it was announced that it had been acquired by a non-profit group of Maine newspapers, Maine Trust for Local News.[1]
History
[edit]Founded in 1904 by officials of the Waterville Democratic Party—Waterville mayor Cyrus Davis; future U.S. Senator Charles Fletcher Johnson; and future mayor L. Eugene Thayer, leavened by newspaper veteran Thomas F. Murphy—the Waterville Morning Sentinel, within a year, grew from a three-desk operation to requiring its own building, on Silver Street.[2]
In 1911, a financially ailing Davis sold the paper to bond holders; ten years later, it was bought by Guy Gannett, who was in the process of building a newspaper, radio and television empire in Maine. His holdings included the Portland Press Herald and, after 1929, the Sentinel's in-county competitor, the Kennebec Journal.[2]
Gannett's ownership also saw the paper become less politically biased.[2] Gannett and his heirs—no relation to the Virginia-based chain called Gannett Company—held the three Maine dailies until 1998, when they sold them to The Seattle Times Company, which rechristened the chain "Blethen Maine Newspapers".
Frank Blethen, a descendant of Seattle Times founder Albert Blethen, a Maine native, later called the purchase "the largest and riskiest investment in our history" but a necessary move to keep the newspapers from becoming part of a corporate chain.[3]
It was sold in 2009 to MaineToday Media.[4] In December, the newspaper was criticized for firing one of its journalists who had made negative remarks about the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign.[5][6][7]
Prices
[edit]The Morning Sentinel prices are: $1.30 daily, $2.30 Saturday/Sunday "Weekend Edition".
References
[edit]- ^ "Sale of Maine newspapers to national nonprofit is finalized". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ a b c CentralMaine.com: About Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 27, 2007.
- ^ Christie, John. "In the Newspaper Business, Who Owns the Place Makes All the Difference in the World" Archived 2008-10-15 at the Wayback Machine. Kennebec Journal (Augusta, Maine). August 13, 2006.
- ^ "MaineToday Media Acquires Maine Newspapers, Online Information Portal and Related Real Estate Assets". Business Wire. June 15, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
- ^ Reporter, Fired for Anti-Gay Marriage E-Mail, Claims Wrongful Termination
- ^ Maine Reporter Fired Over Email Sent Attacking Human Rights Campaign Archived 2010-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Reporter fired for gay marriage taunt blames 'anti-Christian bias'