| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Gannett |
| Publisher | David B. Petty |
| Editor | Eleanor Rushing |
| Founded | 1890 |
| Headquarters | 411 North Fourth Street, Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, USA |
| Official website | thenewsstar.com |
The News-Star is the principal newspaper of Monroe and northeastern Louisiana. Its circulation area ranges over some dozen parishes from Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish, on the west, to Tallulah in Madison Parish on the east, to the Arkansas state line on the north, and to Ferriday in Concordia Parish on the south. The newspaper is a Gannett Company publication.
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The News Star began in 1890 as the Monroe Evening News. In 1909, the Evening News merged with the Daily Star to form the afternoon newspaper, the Monroe News-Star.[1] In 1908, Robert Wilson Ewing, I (1859–1931), while still the publisher of the since defunct New Orleans Daily States, purchased the Shreveport Times. In 1929, Ewing bought the since defunct Monroe Morning World. In 1930, he acquired the News-Star, since switched from an afternoon to a morning publication. Ewing was accordingly among the two or three most influential persons in the Louisiana journalism community.[2] The two Monroe newspapers remained in the Ewing family until the Gannett acquisition on June 16, 1977. The Morning World and News-Star consolidated on August 4, 1980, to become The News-Star-World. The name was later changed and the first edition of The News Star was printed on May 22, 1988.[1]
John D. Ewing (1892–1952), one of the five sons of Robert Ewing, was editor and publisher of the Shreveport Times and the Monroe News-Star-World from 1931 until his death. John Ewing moved to Shreveport in 1915 to become the associate publisher of the Shreveport Times. When his father died, Ewing became the publisher of the Shreveport Times and both Monroe papers. All three newspapers were known for their conservative editorials.[3]
Robert Ewing, III (1935–2007), a nephew of John Ewing, was a nature photographer and served as a News Star board member.[4]. Another Ewing relative, Edmund Graves Brown (1921–2008), was a News Star executive who served as the assistant general manager until Gannett, an Arlington, Virginia, firm, purchased the combined News-Star-World.[5] In 1980, “World” was dropped from the name, which became the News Star, without a hyphen.
The News Star usually endorses conservative candidates. In 2004, it supported successful Republicans Rodney Alexander for the United States House of Representatives and David Vitter for the United States Senate.[6] In 2007, the paper endorsed Royal Alexander, a former Rodney Alexander staff member (no relation), who unsuccessfully carried the Republican Party banner for Louisiana attorney general in the 2007 elections. Royal Alexander of Shreveport was handily defeated by Buddy Caldwell of Tallulah, after incumbent Charles Foti was eliminated in the first round of balloting.[7]