The Morning Sentinel is an American daily newspaper published six mornings a week in Waterville, Maine. Printed at the Portland Press Herald press in South Portland, Maine, it covers cities and towns in parts of Franklin, Kennebec, Penobscot and Somerset counties.
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) |
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| Editor |
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| Founded | March 3, 1904, as Waterville Morning Sentinel |
| Headquarters | 31 Front Street, Waterville, Maine 04901, United States |
| Circulation | 13,922 daily |
| OCLC number | 38243825 |
| Website | centralmaine.com |
The publication was run between 2000 and 2023 by MaineToday Media. In August 2023, it was announced that it had been acquired by a non-profit group of Maine newspapers, Maine Trust for Local News.[1]
History
editFounded in 1904 by officials of the Waterville Democratic Party—Waterville mayor Cyrus Davis; future U.S. Senator Charles Fletcher Johnson; and future mayor L. Eugene Thayer, leavened by newspaper veteran Thomas F. Murphy—the Waterville Morning Sentinel, within a year, grew from a three-desk operation to requiring its own building, on Silver Street.[2]
In 1911, a financially ailing Davis sold the paper to bond holders; ten years later, it was bought by Guy Gannett, who was in the process of building a newspaper, radio and television empire in Maine. His holdings included the Portland Press Herald and, after 1929, the Sentinel's in-county competitor, the Kennebec Journal.[2]
Gannett's ownership also saw the paper become less politically biased.[2] Gannett and his heirs—no relation to the Virginia-based chain called Gannett Company—held the three Maine dailies until 1998, when they sold them to The Seattle Times Company, which rechristened the chain "Blethen Maine Newspapers".
Frank Blethen, a descendant of Seattle Times founder Albert Blethen, a Maine native, later called the purchase "the largest and riskiest investment in our history" but a necessary move to keep the newspapers from becoming part of a corporate chain.[3]
It was sold in 2009 to MaineToday Media.[4] In December, the newspaper was criticized for firing one of its journalists who had made negative remarks about the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign.[5][6][7]
Prices
editThe Morning Sentinel prices are: $1.30 daily, $2.30 Saturday/Sunday "Weekend Edition".
References
edit- ^ "Sale of Maine newspapers to national nonprofit is finalized". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ a b c CentralMaine.com: About Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 27, 2007.
- ^ Christie, John. "In the Newspaper Business, Who Owns the Place Makes All the Difference in the World" Archived 2008-10-15 at the Wayback Machine. Kennebec Journal (Augusta, Maine). August 13, 2006.
- ^ "MaineToday Media Acquires Maine Newspapers, Online Information Portal and Related Real Estate Assets". Business Wire. June 15, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
- ^ Reporter, Fired for Anti-Gay Marriage E-Mail, Claims Wrongful Termination
- ^ Maine Reporter Fired Over Email Sent Attacking Human Rights Campaign Archived 2010-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Reporter fired for gay marriage taunt blames 'anti-Christian bias'