Beacon Communications (publisher)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Beacon Communications | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 |
| Headquarters | 1944 Warwick Avenue, Warwick, Rhode Island 02889 USA |
| Key people | John I. Howell Jr., publisher Richard G. Fleischer, general manager |
| Industry | Newspapers |
| Products | Three weekly newspapers in Rhode Island |
| Website | warwickonline.com |
Beacon Communications is a privately owned weekly newspaper publisher serving the suburban Rhode Island cities of Cranston, Johnston and Warwick.
|
Begun in 1969 by John Howell and Anthony Ritacco, as a vehicle to purchase the Warwick Beacon, the company was called Southern Rhode Island Publications until 1987. Howell took sole possession of the company in the 1980s.
[edit] Properties
In addition to its three weekly newspapers, Beacon publishes the Penny$aver shopper in Cranston and Warwick; ChamberWorks, a business publication; and PrimeTime, a seniors-oriented monthly magazine.
- Cranston Herald
- Founded in 1922, the Herald was for a long time run by Rosalie Frost, a former Rockette who in the 1930s became a pathbreaking female journalist. She sold the paper to Beacon shortly after 1973, when the company had started a competing weekly, Cranston Today. The papers were merged under the Herald name. Today's Herald is a paid-subscription Thursday paper.[1] Today, Elizabeth Wayland Seal serves as editor while Howell remains as publisher.
- Johnston Sun Rise
- Beacon purchased the weekly Johnston Sun Rise in 2006.
- Warwick Beacon
- The company's flagship publication, the Warwick Beacon, dates back to November 19, 1953. It switched from weekly to twice-weekly publication (currently Tuesdays and Thursdays) in the 1970s.[2] Howell remains an active reporter for the paper. News tips can be sent to johnh@warwickonline.com
[edit] Sisters and competitors
In addition to the former Cranston Today, the company has launched several other complementary products. Beacon founded the Coventry Townsman and Seekonk Sentinel in the early 1970s, later selling them to other owners; and Newport Today (now called Newport This Week).[2]
Beacon's papers compete with The Providence Journal in the state's capital city, which borders Johnston and Cranston.
All three Beacon newspapers are members of Rhode Island Newspaper Group, an advertising sales consortium that consists of five weekly newspaper publishers in suburban Providence. Beacon is the coordinating office for the group; other members are Breeze Publications, East Bay Newspapers, Hathaway Publishing and Southern Rhode Island Newspapers.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ CranstonOnline: History, accessed March 8, 2007.
- ^ a b WarwickOnline: History, accessed March 8, 2007.
- ^ RINewspaperGroup.com, accessed March 24, 2007.
[edit] External link
 |
This article about a United States newspaper is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
 |
This Rhode Island-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
