Brush-Moore 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]

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

Ohio

• 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.

California

• 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

• 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

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

1. Thomson Buys Paper Group, St. Petersburg Times (UPI), August 26, 1967
2. Newspapers: Strength in the Afternoon, Time (magazine), September 8, 1967
3. 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. 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. 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
14. Ohio Company Buys Oxnard Press-Courier, Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1963
15. Honoring the 150th Anniversary of the Times-Standard, Congressional Record, November 18, 2004
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. "The Media: Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting/Telecasting (March 27, 1961): 78, 79. Retrieved September 19, 2015. via http://www.americanradiohistory.com
21. WONE Bought, Billboard (magazine), October 24, 1964, p.26
22. 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/Telecasting (December 16, 1963): 71. Retrieved September 19, 2015. via http://www.americanradiohistory.com
24. "For the Record: Ownership Changes" (PDF). Broadcasting/Telecasting (December 16, 1963): 104. Retrieved September 19, 2015. via http://www.americanradiohistory.com
25. WPDQ Jacksonville sold for $750,000, Broadcasting, Volume 66, pp. 9, 96 (1964)