Herald & Tribune

General information

Since 1869

The Herald & Tribune was established on August 26, 1869, when the first issue went to press under the direction of Dr. C. Wheeler and Dr. M.S. Mahoney, the original publishers.

The first edition carried in-depth news of happenings on local, state and national scenes. Advertisements came mostly from Baltimore, Washington, New York and Knoxville. Very few ads came from local tradesmen.

The newspaper changed hands several times after Wheeler and Mahoney left until the early part of the 20th century when it was purchased by E.S. Depew, who operated the Herald & Tribune for about 30 years.

In November 1947, Tim Pridgen, a reporter from North Carolina, bought the paper. During his time as owner and publisher, the Herald & Tribune was greatly expanded and circulation widely increased. One of Pridgen's major accomplishments was to increase the circulation from 400 to 2,500 paid subscribers.

In 1961, Pridgen sold the newspaper to Bill Breeden and Jim Allen. In 1970, Breeden became full owner and a new period of progress began for the newspaper. In 1977, Breeden constructed the building now housing the offices of the Herald & Tribune, located at 702 W. Jackson Blvd., Jonesborough, Tenn.

In 1980, Earl Wilson bought the newspaper. Then, in 1981, the Carl A. Jones Newspaper Group purchased the Herald & Tribune with John A. Jones as publisher and Alice Torbett as associate publisher.

The Jones family sold the newspaper in the spring of 2002. The Herald & Tribune is now part of Sandusky Corporation, which owns several daily and weekly newspapers as well as several radio stations in the United States.

The Herald & Tribune is published weekly on Tuesday. Deadline for all sections is noon Friday.

Please contact us at 423-753-3136 or FAX 423-753-6528.