Hudson Dispatch

The Hudson Dispatch

Former Hudson Dispatch headquarters
Type Daily newspaper
Format Tabloid
Owner Newhouse Newspapers
Founded 1874 (Approximate)
Ceased publication 1991
Headquarters 400 38th Street
Union City, New Jersey

The Hudson Dispatch was a newspaper covering events in Hudson and Bergen counties in Northern New Jersey.[1] It published continuously from 1874 until 1991, when it was purchased by Newhouse Newspapers.[2] Its headquarters were located on 38th Street in Union City.

Contents

History

The Hudson Dispatch was originally called the Harrison Dispatch, starting around 1874, in East Newark, New Jersey by Trelease, Simonds & Company. It moved to Jersey City in 1887, relocated to Union Hill in 1890.[3]

Starting in the late 1970s, the staff of the Dispatch aggressively covered the notorious political corruption in Hudson and Bergen counties. A series of articles on the corrupt political practices in Union City, New Jersey, led to the conviction of William V. Musto, the city's mayor. During the same period other mayors and even a district attorney were prosecuted on corruption charges in part due to investigative journalism by the Dispatch.

Allbritton Communications bought the paper in 1977. In 1985, the paper was purchased by an affiliate of MediaNews Group.

The editorial staff working at The Dispatch during this period included (in alphabetical order) Bill Alpert, Shepard Barbash, Adrian Benepe, Winnie Bonelli, Frances Burns, Frank Brooks, Eileen Byrnes, Amy Chapman, Roman Cjazkowsky, Jim Consoli, Diane Curcio, Tom Curran, Barbara Demick, Aleida Duran, Jim Dwyer, Kevin P. Hayes, Viviana Fernandez, Gary Fishman, Mike Fistel, George Garneau, Raanan Geberer, Dick Goldensohn, Bill Gyves, Tim Healy, Willie Hernandez, Janet Insolia, Douglas Lavin, Eric Linton, Steve Lieberman, Rick Maddock, Bob McCormick, Paul Moses, David Newman, John O'Neil, Joe Ruda, Nancy Siracusa, Lena H. Sun, Chuck Sutton, Bill Slossar, Rich Vezza and Bob Zeitlinger.[4]

In 1991 the paper was purchased by Newhouse Newspapers and merged into The Jersey Journal.[5]

Hudson Dispatch Weekly

Since May 2010, a free bilingual newspaper Hudson Dispatch Weekly has served the North Hudson area. Published by the Evening Journal Association, at 30 Journal Square, one side is printed in English, and the other in Spanish under the title la comunidad.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ Good, Philip (April 6, 1991). "Recalling the Glory Days of The Hudson Dispatch". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE6DD103DF934A15753C1A967958260. Retrieved 2008-11-17. "The paper, based in Union City, was The Hudson Dispatch, in an area with enough corruption, crime, fires and colorful personalities to keep a reporter busy writing three articles a day." 
  2. ^ Hanley, Robert (October 27, 1991). "The Hudson Dispatch, 117, Is No More". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD9103BF935A35757C0A967958260. Retrieved 2008-11-17. "The Hudson Dispatch, a morning newspaper that has covered Hudson County in New Jersey for 117 years, was sold yesterday to a rival, The Jersey Journal, and ended publication with yesterday's issue. Newhouse Newspapers, the chain whose papers include The Jersey Journal and The Star-Ledger of Newark, its flagship paper, bought The Dispatch's name and subscription list from Media News Group, a Houston-based chain owned by W. Dean Singleton. The price was about $8 million, an official of one of the companies said." 
  3. ^ Karnoutsos, Carmela. Hudson Dispatch, Jersey City Past and Present, accessed December 19, 2010.
  4. ^ "Hudson Dispatch". New Jersey City University. http://www.njcu.edu/Programs/jchistory/Pages/J_Pages/Jersey_Journal.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-26. "The Hudson Dispatch began as the Harrison Dispatch, circa 1874. It was a local independent newspaper in Harrison, New Jersey, said to have started in East Newark by publisher Trelease, Simonds & Company. In 1877, the newspaper was sold to a printer who convinced the political leader and Hudson County Sheriff Robert "Bob" Davis to invest in the Dispatch. It moved to Jersey City in 1887, relocated to Union Hill (now Union City) in 1890 and finally took residence in the Dispatch Building at 400 Thirty-eight Street in Union City. As the Hudson Dispatch, the newspaper was noted for its investigative reporting of Hudson County politics and primarily served the communities of Union City, Weehawken, West New York and North Bergen. Sold to Media News Group of Houston in 1986, the Dispatch was taken over by its competitor, the Jersey Journal, in 1991. By that time the newspaper had been in existence for approximately 117 years, but its circulation had slipped to 30,000 and suffered from a loss of revenue and advertising. Mindful of the Dispatch's journalistic tradition in the county, the Jersey Journal for a while printed the Hudson Dispatch logo along with its own name on its masthead." 
  5. ^ "Hudson Dispatch is Closing". Bergen Record. April 4, 1991. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22581689.html. Retrieved 2008-11-17. "The 117-year-old Hudson Dispatch of Union City, whose pages over the years have brimmed with colorful stories about political corruption in Hudson County, will stop publishing as early as Saturday and sell its assets to its main competitor, according to sources. Under the agreement, the Jersey City-based Jersey Journal, whose parent company owns the Star-Ledger of Newark, will acquire the ..." 
  6. ^ "Notices (colofon)". Hudson Dispatch Weekly (Jersey City: Evening Journal Association). 2010-12-18. 
  7. ^ The main cover story of the May 13, 2010 edition is mirrored here on NJ.com.

External links