Nebraska City News-Press

Thomas Morton was born in Wales in 1829 and immigrated to Ohio with his parents as a child. He made his living in the printing trade and in May 1854 was employed at a small newspaper in St. Mary, Iowa. Around that time Morton pitched the idea of launching a newspaper called the Platte Valley Advertiser for people living nearby across the Missouri River in the Nebraska Territory. Before launching, Morton merged his paper with another that had recently started called the Gazette. The newly formed Nebraska Palladium was first published on July 15, 1854.{{Cite news |last=McKee |first=Jim |date=August 30, 2020 |title=The story of the other Morton |work=Lincoln Journal Star |pages=L3}}

The paper was printed in Iowa by Washington hand press. The business later moved to Bellevue and printed the first issue of the Nebraska Palladium & Platte Valley Advocate on November 18, 1854.{{Cite news |date=January 10, 1976 |title=Nebraska's First Newspaper Used Handpress from Iowa |work=Lincoln Journal Star |pages=8}} The masthead listed Morton as editor and the owners as D. E. Reed and J. M. Latham. When Bellevue was not named territorial capital as expected, Morton moved the paper to Nebraska City and renamed it to the Nebraska City News. Julius Sterling Morton was hired as the paper's first editor after the relocation. Despite sharing the same last name, the two men were unrelated.{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1925 |title=Oldest Nebraska Daily In Final Issue Sunday |work=Omaha World-Herald |pages=4}} Sterling Morton wrote editorials that were staunchly Democratic for the paper which acted as the party's mouthpiece in the territory. One day horsemen led by Jim Lane visited him and threatened to destroy his printing plant if he did not stop attacking abolitionists. On May 12, 1860, a fire destroyed most of the city's downtown district, including the News' plant. In March 1887,{{Cite news |date=March 5, 1887 |title=Nebraska City News Sold |work=The Beatrice Republican |pages=2}} the News became owned Thomas Morton's nephew C. H. Hubner and E. D. Marnell. Thomas Morton died about five months later on August 10, 1887.

The People's Press was first published in Nebraska City on Nov. 25, 1858. It was founded by Charles W. Sherfey. He was a Harvard Law School graduate who had previously established the Platte Valley Times in Plattsmouth a year before.{{Cite news |date=July 11, 1904 |title=Death of Charles W. Sherfey {{!}} Pioneer Resident of This City Passes Away at His Home This Morning. |work=The Daily Tribune |pages=3 |publication-place=Nebraska City, Nebraska}} Sherfey soon sold the Press after a few weeks to Orasmus H. Irish and L. L. Survey.{{Cite news |date=January 11, 1927 |title=Has Subscribed To Paper In Nebraska City For 65 Years {{!}} News-Press Has Several Readers of More Than Half a Century Standing, Files Reveal |work=The Columbus Telegram |pages=4 |agency=United Press}} Survey died around the time their first issue was published and Irish sold the paper in 1860 to Alfred Mathias and Joseph E. LaMaster. A year later the paper was owned by W. H. H. Waters and Royal Buck, who changed the name to the Press and Herald. Buck sold out in 1862 and the name was changed back to the People's Press. In 1864, D. J. McCann purchased the paper. A year later the paper was operated by W. H. Miller who sold it back to Irish in 1863. Three years later the name was changed to the Nebraska City Press. In 1868, Miller and S. B. Price became co-owners and Irish withdrew later that year, replaced by Thomas McCulloch. Miller became the sole-owner by 1870. The paper was temporarily suspended but relaunched by John Roberts and W. A. Brown as the Chronicle and Press. Roberts soon dropped out and the name was changed to the Press again.{{Cite news |date=December 11, 1876 |title=Our Past {{!}} A Few Reminders of the Early Days of Our History |work=The Daily Nebraska Press |pages=4}} Alfred G. Fairbrother became the proprietor in 1884.{{Cite news |date=September 5, 1884 |title=Notice |work=The Granger |pages=1 |publication-place=Auburn, Nebraska}} E. A. Brown operated the paper for 26 years until selling it to Frank Olmsted in 1907.{{Cite news |date=June 16, 1907 |title=Nebraska City Press Sold. |work=Lincoln Nebraska State Journal |pages=6}}

On November 6, 1925, C. H. Hubner and E. D. Marnell sold the Nebraska City News to Earl M. Marvin, owner of the Beatrice Daily Sun. Ten minutes after signing the deal, Marvin sold the paper again to John Hyde Sweet, owner of the Nebraska City Daily Press.{{Cite news |date=November 13, 1925 |title=Nebraska City News Sold |work=The Syracuse Journal-Democrat |pages=1}} The two papers were then merged together to form the Nebraska City News-Press. Upon J. Hyde Sweet's death in 1964,{{Cite news |date=April 4, 1964 |title=Sweet Dies |work=Evening World-Herald |pages=1}} the paper was inherited by his son Arthur Sweet. In 1975, he retired and sold the paper to Roy H. Park, owner of Park Newspapers, Inc.{{Cite news |date=May 16, 1975 |title=Park Buys Paper |work=The Post-Standard |pages=1}} Park sold the paper in 1993 to American Publishing Co., a subsidiary of Hollinger Inc.{{Cite news |date=December 29, 1993 |title=Park Sells Shenandoah, Iowa, Nebraska City Papers |work=Omaha World-Herald |pages=18}} Hollinger sold the paper to Liberty Group Publishing in 1999.{{Cite web |date=July 28, 1999 |title=Liberty Group to Buy Midwest Publications |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/28/business/liberty-group-to-buy-midwest-publications.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527105431/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/28/business/liberty-group-to-buy-midwest-publications.html |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |access-date=October 16, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} The company was bought in 2005{{Cite web |last= |date=2005-06-06 |title=Investment Group Finalizes Acquistion of Liberty Group Publishing |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/investment-group-finalizes-acquistion-of-liberty-group-publishing,111596 |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=Editor and Publisher |language=en}} and then renamed to Gatehouse Media,{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=August 5, 2019 |title=GateHouse Media enters into agreement to acquire Gannett, forming largest US publishing company |url=https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/story/news/2019/08/05/gatehouse-media-enters-into-agreement-to-acquire-gannett-forming-largest-us-publishing-company/44372697/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=Herald-Mail Media |language=en-US}} which merged with Gannett in 2019.{{Cite web |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=5 August 2019 |title=USA Today owner Gannett merges with GateHouse Media to form massive newspaper company |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/05/media/gannett-gatehouse-merger/index.html |access-date=2019-08-13 |website=CNN}} In September 2021, Gannett sold the Nebraska City News-Press to CherryRoad Media.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-09-24 |title=CherryRoad Media Acquires 20 Newspapers in Four States |url=https://www.cherryroad.com/2021/09/24/cherryroad-media-acquires/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011160712/https://www.cherryroad.com/2021/09/24/cherryroad-media-acquires/ |archive-date=October 11, 2021 |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=CherryRoad Technologies |language=en-US}} The newspaper announced on April 20, 2023, that it would add a paywall to its website starting that May.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-20 |title=Trial period ending for newspaper’s website |url=https://www.hamburgreporter.com/2023/04/20/trial-period-ending-for-newspapers-website/ |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=The Hamburg Reporter}}

{{reflist}}

• List of newspapers in Nebraska
• List of newspapers owned by GateHouse Media

Category:Newspapers published in Nebraska

Category:1854 establishments in Nebraska Territory

Category:Newspapers established in 1854

Category:Nebraska City, Nebraska

Category:Otoe County, Nebraska