| Type | Daily |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Walter E. Whitton |
| Founded | 1871 |
| Circulation | 16,070 |
| OCLC number | 27905790 |
| Official website | http://www.thehour.com |
The Hour is a daily newspaper published in Norwalk, Connecticut. It serves the municipalities of Norwalk, Wilton, Westport, Weston and Stamford. The newspaper was founded in 1871.[1] It was published under the title The Evening Hour from 1895 into the 1900s, at which point it was renamed The Norwalk Hour. Some time after 1971, it became simply The Hour.[2][3] The newspaper covers local news, business, sports, and entertainment,[1] and as of April 2003, had a circulation of 16,070.[4] In 2000, The Hour shifted from afternoon to morning deliveries.[5]
In 2003, competition between The Hour and its much larger Tribune Company-owned rival, The Advocate, came to a head. On May 15, The Stamford-base competitor began circulating a special Norwalk edition with significantly increased local coverage and a price that substantially undercut The Hour.[6] The rivalry escalated to barbs traded on editorial pages.[6][7]
The Advocate has since been sold to Hearst Publications and discontinued its Norwalk edition leaving The Hour as the sole independent newspaper in Fairfield County and the only daily newspaper devoted to Norwalk and its surrounding communities.