Journal Communications, Inc. (NYSE: JRN) is a publicly traded media company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It publishes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a daily newspaper, and it also owns television stations, radio stations and weekly newspapers, among other businesses.
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The Milwaukee Journal was started in 1882, in competition with four other English-language, four German- and two Polish-language dailies. It launched WTMJ-AM (620) in 1927, and WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) in 1947. The Journal Company, until then primarily owned by local interests, introduced an employee stock trust plan in 1937, and as a result most Journal stock was eventually held by its employees (under certain restrictions). A small bloc of Journal stock was given to Harvard to fund the Nieman Fellowship program for promising journalists, and another bloc was still held by the original owning families until the IPO.
The Milwaukee Sentinel, begun in 1837 as a weekly published by Solomon Juneau, passed through the hands of several owners before being sold to the Hearst Corporation in 1924. Hearst operated the Sentinel until 1962, when, following a long and costly strike, it abruptly announced the closing of the paper. Although Hearst claimed that the paper had lost money for years, The Journal Company, concerned about the loss of an important voice (and facing questions about its own dominance of the Milwaukee media market), agreed to buy the Sentinel name, subscription lists, and any "good will" associated with the name. In 1995 the Journal and Sentinel were consolidated. The new Journal Sentinel then became a seven-day morning paper.
In 1964 Journal Communications bought a part interest in Perry Printing, a commercial printer specializing in printing magazines, catalogs and free-standing inserts for publications [1]; in 1974 it purchased the remaining shares of the company; and in 1995 sold the operation (which by then had about 1000 employees and sales of $123 million) to the Milhous Group of California[2].
In 1968 the Midwestern Relay cable transmission division of the Journal Company was developed out of broadcast-related expertise; in 1991, Midwestern Relay acquired Norlight, a fiber-optic private carrier, and adopted the Norlight name. On February 26, 2007 Journal Communications sold the regional telecommunications provider to privately-held Q-Comm Corp of Delaware. Upon closing the transaction, Q-Comm terminated Jim Ditter, who had been president of Norlight since 1995, and chief financial officer Mike Garvey.
What is now known as the Journal Community Publishing Group began in Waupaca, Wisconsin in 1972 as a publishing and printing company called Add Inc. A majority interest was purchased by Journal Communications in 1981, and the remainder in 1986. In June 2007, Journal Communications sold off its JCP interests in Louisiana, Ohio, Connecticut and Vermont. The sales brought in a combined $30 million.
The company sold 11 community newspapers, five shoppers and two printing plants in Connecticut and Vermont to Hersam Acorn Newspapers. In Ohio, Journal sold eight shoppers, numerous specialty print products and the Advantage Press commercial printing business to Gannett Company. It also sold its Louisiana-based publishing business to a Target Media Partners affiliate.
In 1999 Journal Communications acquired the Great Empire radio group (13 radio stations in 4 states).
The corporation had its initial public offering of Class A shares in 2003.
For decades, Journal Broadcast Group been criticized in Milwaukee-area media.[2][3][4], with critics concerned about a media monopoly leading to a certain uniformity of thought and coverage, as well as to lack of coverage of topics unfriendly to Journal Communications interests in such matters as labor disputes[5]. It has even gone so far as to create its own now-defunct alternative papers like MKE and the short-lived ¡Aqui! Milwaukee, to regain advertising dollars lost to local independents like the Shepherd Express and the Milwaukee Spanish Journal.[6]
(Headquarters: Milwaukee)
Journal Interactive [3]
(Headquarters: Milwaukee)
| Market | Station | TV (DT) | Current Affiliation | Year Acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | WTMJ-TV | 4 (28) | 4 & 4.1: NBC | 1948 | Journal's flagship station; had secondary ABC and CBS affiliations from 1948-1953 and secondary DuMont affiliation from 1949-1953. |
| Las Vegas | KTNV-TV | 13 (12) | 13 & 13.1: ABC 13.2: Mexicanal |
1979 | First station purchased by Journal. |
| Fort Myers/Naples | WFTX-TV | 36 (35) | Fox | 2005 | Licensed to Cape Coral |
| Tucson | KGUN-TV | 9 (35) | ABC | 2005 | |
| KWBA-TV | 58 (44) | The CW | 2008 | Licensed to Sierra Vista | |
| Green Bay/Appleton | WGBA-TV | 26 (41) | 26.1: NBC | 2004 | ** also has two translator stations:
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| Green Bay/Appleton | WACY-TV | 32 (27) | MyNetworkTV | N/A | Owned by Ace TV, Inc.; operated by WGBA through a local marketing agreement. |
| Omaha | KMTV-TV | 3 (45) | CBS | 2007 | Operated by Journal since late 2005. |
| Boise | KIVI-TV | 6 (24) | 6 & 6.1: ABC 6.2: Mexicanal |
2002 | Licensed to Nampa |
| KNIN-TV | 9 (10) | 9.1: Fox 9.2: Live Well Network |
2009 | Licensed to Caldwell. Was affiliated with The CW (on main channel) and The CW Plus (on digital subchannel 9.2) until August 31, 2011. |
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| Lansing | WSYM-TV | 47 (35) | Fox | 1985 | |
| Palm Springs | KMIR-TV | 36 (46) | NBC | 1999 | |
| KPSE-LP | 50 | MyNetworkTV | 2008 | ||
| Twin Falls | KSAW-LP | 51 | ABC | 2002 | Satellite of KIVI |
In addition to weekly newspapers, the Journal Community Publishing Group publishes advertising and specialty publications in Florida, Massachusetts, New York and Wisconsin. (Headquarters: Waupaca, and New Berlin, Wisconsin)
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