By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The Post-Dispatch will soon no longer be a St. Louis-owned newspaper.
The company that owns the paper - Pulitzer, Inc. - announced Sunday it's being sold to Lee Enterprises, of Davenport, Iowa for $1.46 billion.
Pulitzer also owns the Suburban Journals, and 13 other daily newspapers. Its newspapers will make up more than a third of the new company.
The company recently said it was exploring options, including sale, for its future.
Lee currently owns 44 newspapers, including the Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale. But until now, it only had one with a circulation of more than 100,000 (the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison). The sale will add two more, with the Post-Dispatch becoming Lee's new largest paper.
The move will also make Lee the fourth largest newspaper publisher in the U.S. in terms of number of daily newspapers owned, and the seventh largest in terms of circulation. It will also get a small stake in the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team as a result of the purchase.
The Post-Dispatch has been a St. Louis company since its founding in 1878 by Joseph Pulitzer.
| Lee Buys Pulitzer: A Comparison | ||
| Lee Enterprises | Pulitzer, Inc. | |
| Founded | 1890 | 1878 |
| Founder | A.W. Lee | Joseph Pulitzer |
| Largest Daily Newspapers | Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) | STL Post-Dispatch |
| North County Times (Escondido, Ca.) | Arizona Daily Star (Tuscon) | |
| The Times (Munster, Ind.) | The Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph | |
| Number of Dailies | 44 | 14 |
| Total Daily circulation (9/04) | 1,113,283 | 575,522 |
| Total Sunday circulation (9/04) | 1,180,042 | 799,010 |
| 2004 revenue (calendar year) | $694.4 million | $443.7 million |
| Employees | 6,700 | 4,000 |
To see a map of where all the newspapers within the new Lee system are located, click here.