Wick Communications
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox company
| logo =
| name = Wick Communications
| type = Private
| foundation = {{start date|1984|07|30}}{{cite web |url=http://starpas.cc.state.az.us/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsbroker1/history-detail.p?corp-id=01393601 |title=Ariz. Corp. Comm. – Corporations Division |access-date=August 16, 2010}}
| founder = Milton I. Wick and his James L. Wick
| location = Sierra Vista, Arizona, U.S.
| key_people = Francis Wick, President and CEO
Susan Ellis, CFO
John D'Orlando, COO
Reilly Kneedler, CoS
| num_employees = 400+{{cite web |url=http://www.linkedin.com/companies/wick-communications |title=Wick Communications Company Profile |work=LinkedIn |access-date=February 14, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://wickcommunications.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=41 |title=Board of Directors |work=Wick Communications Co. |access-date=August 16, 2010}}
| industry = Newspapers
| homepage = {{url|http://wickcommunications.com}}
}}
Wick Communications (formerly known as Wick Newspaper Group){{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=1080801|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005192352/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=1080801|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 5, 2012|title=Wick Communications Co.:Private Company Information|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|access-date=August 16, 2010}} is a family-owned media company with 18 newspapers in 10 states.{{Cite web |last=Dudley |first=Brier |date=2024-08-09 |title=Q&A: Francis Wick on saving local news, NW journalism and more |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/qa-francis-wick-on-saving-local-news-nw-journalism-and-more/ |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}} They also publish websites and other specialty publications. The home offices are in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and it has newspapers in Arizona, Louisiana, Montana, Colorado, Alaska, California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.{{cite web|url=http://wickcommunications.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=43 |title=Locations |work=Wick Communications Co. |access-date=August 16, 2010}}
The Wick family
While in college, brothers Milton I. Wick and James Lester Wick started a business employing college students to sell books to farmers during the summer months.{{Cite news |date=December 1, 1981 |title=Milton I. Wick, Daily News Chairman, dies at age of 82 |work=Daily News |pages=1}} The two purchased their first newspaper in 1926. Over the years Milton managed the business and acquired 27 papers across the country. At the same time his business partner James worked as a foreign correspondent in Europe and focused on politics. After returning stateside he became editor of the newsletter What's Happening in Washington. In 1952, James published a book titled "How Not to Run for President, A Handbook for Republicans."{{Cite news |last=Barton |first=Bruce |date=June 22, 1952 |title=Bruce Barton Says: Bob or Ike? |work=The San Francisco Examiner |pages=128}}
In 1953, James organized a European tour with a group of 37 newspaper editors,{{Cite news |date=November 8, 1964 |title=JAMES WICK DIES; PUBLISHER WAS 67; Editor of Human Events, a Conservative Newsletter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/08/archives/james-wick-dies-publisher-was-67-editor-of-human-events-a.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027232030/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/08/archives/james-wick-dies-publisher-was-67-editor-of-human-events-a.html |archive-date=October 27, 2018 |access-date=October 10, 2024 |work=The New York Times |pages=89}} including his brother. The venture was called Wick Editors Tours. The group were the first Americans to enter and report from Hungry and Romania after the raising of the Iron Curtain. The Wick brothers were among the first party of U.S. journalists allowed inside the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. At the time of his death in 1964, James was the editor and publisher of Human Events, a Conservative newsletter. Right before passing, he sold his interest in Wick Newspapers to his brother Milton's sons Walter M. Wick and Robert J. Wick.{{Cite web |date=2016-02-09 |title=Francis Wick named CEO of Wick Communications |url=https://www.willistonherald.com/business/francis-wick-named-ceo-of-wick-communications/article_86297d46-cf53-11e5-8e0c-77a38920f87c.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Williston Herald |language=en}} The two took full ownership of the family business when their father Milton died on November 30, 1981. At that time the Wick Newspaper Group owned and operated 40 newspapers.
Milton I. Wick was inducted posthumously into the Arizona Newspapers Hall of Fame in 1996,{{Cite web |title=THE HISTORY OF SERVICE |url=https://www.wickcommunications.com/about |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Wick Communications |language=en-US}} and Walt M. Wick and Robert J. Wick were also inducted in September 2004.
In 2016, Robert's son Francis Wick was named CEO of Wick Communications. That same year Walter M. Wick died of pancreatic cancer.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Dylan |date=December 28, 2016 |title=Former SV Herald publisher Walter Wick dies at 85 {{!}} Obituary |url=https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/122816_wick_obit/former-sv-herald-publisher-walter-wick-dies-85/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Tucson Sentinel |language=en-US}} Robert J. Wick died in 2022.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-18 |title=Robert Wick, champion of art, newspapers and community, dies at 86 |url=https://www.nhonews.com/obituaries/robert-wick-champion-of-art-newspapers-and-community-dies-at-86/article_70245514-8c40-5d54-b536-4f7ea704aebf.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Navajo-Hopi Observer |language=en}} In August 2024, Francis Wick announced he will step down as company CEO. He was replaced by Josh O'Connor, an executive with Black Press.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-12-21 |title=Josh O'Connor named CEO of Wick Communications |url=https://azdailysun.com/news/local/josh-oconnor-named-ceo-of-wick-communications/article_a856dfd8-bf01-11ef-9365-c3383d33c45c.html |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=Arizona Daily Sun |language=en}}
Acquisitions and sales
The company originated in 1926 when the Wick family purchased the Niles Daily Times in Niles, Ohio.{{Cite web |title=Wick |url=https://www.nabur.org/wick |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=NABUR |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=December 1, 1981 |title=Veteran publisher dies in Arizona |work=St. Joseph News-Press |pages=6}} The company bought The Daily Herald in 1947{{Cite news |date=September 13, 1948 |title=Weekly Newspaper Changes To Daily At Roanoke Rapids |work=The Daily Times-News |pages=9}} and Williston Herald in 1961.{{Cite news |date=August 25, 1961 |title=Business Notes: Handles Sales |work=The News and Observer |pages=31}}{{Cite news |date=August 21, 196 |title=Williston Herald Paper Sold to Niles Editor |work=Lancaster Eagle-Gazette |pages=1}} Also in 1961, the Wick sold the Niles Daily Times and three nearby newspapers (the Girard News, the Hubbard News and the Suburban Reporter) to a newly formed enterprise.{{Cite news |date=October 3, 1961 |title=Niles Daily Times Sold |work=The Evening Independent |pages=4}} In 1962, Wick purchased a stake in the Sidney Herald.{{Cite news |date=April 18, 1962 |title=Porton of Sidney Herald Stock Changes Hands |work=The Sidney Herald |pages=1}}
The Wicks acquired the Sierra Vista Herald in 1967,{{Cite news |date=October 8, 1968 |title=Huachuca paper now in 13th year |work=The Arizona Republic |pages=8}} the Argus Observer in 1968,{{Cite news |date=June 20, 1968 |title=Chain Buys Newspaper In Ontario |work=The Idaho Statesman |pages=5}} Bisbee Review in 1974{{Cite news |date=November 9, 1974 |title=Bisbee sale of weekly is announced |work=The Arizona Republic |pages=37}} and Green Valley News in 1978,{{Cite news |date=November 26, 1978 |title=Wick Newspaper Group buys Green Valley News |work=Arizona Daily Star |pages=34}} Eastern Arizona Courier in 1983,{{Cite news |date=July 6, 1984 |title=Robert Gentry (Obituary) |work=The Arizona Republic |pages=32}}{{Cite news |date=November 14, 1983 |title=Wick moving into radio scene |work=Arizona Daily Star |pages=31}} KFMM and KCUZ in 1983, the Parker Pioneer in 1985,{{Cite news |date=January 10, 1985 |title=Wick buys newspaper |work=Tucson Citizen |pages=29}} the L'Observateur in 1986,{{Cite news |date=April 7, 1986 |title=LaPlace Weekly Sold to Chain |work=The Daily Review |pages=5}} Half Moon Bay Review in 1986,{{Cite web |last=Hayden |first=Sara |date=22 November 2017 |title=Parent company seeks to sell HMB Review |url=https://www.hmbreview.com/news/parent-company-seeks-to-sell-hmb-review/article_86274dec-cfd7-11e7-8c8d-bf8788d411f7.html |access-date=May 25, 2024 |website=Half Moon Bay Review}} Richland County Leader in 1988,{{Cite news |date=February 14, 1988 |title=5-year Sidney press war ends as newspapers merge |work=The Billings Gazette |pages=33}} Douglas Daily Dispatch in 1989;{{Cite news |date=October 21, 1989 |title=Owner of 2 Cochise County dailies to buy Douglas Dispatch on Nov. 1 |work=Arizona Daily Star |pages=22}} The Daily Territorial, The Weekly Territorial and Ore Valley Territorial in 1990,{{Cite news |last=Ducote |first=Richard |date=May 9, 1990 |title=3 Territorial papers sold to Wick Co. |work=Arizona Daily Star |pages=40}} Inside Tucson Business in 1992, Montrose Daily Press in 1997,{{Cite news |date=February 17, 1997 |title=Wick Communications acquires Colorado paper |work=Arizona Daily Star |pages=52}} Tucson Weekly in 2000,{{Cite news |last=Fischer |first=Alan D. |date=March 3, 2000 |title=Sierra Vista's Wick chain buys Tucson Weekly |work=Arizona Daily Star |pages=35}} Capital Journal in 2005;{{Cite news |date=September 29, 2005 |title=Arizona group buys Pierre newspaper |work=Argus-Leader |pages=18}}Anchorage Press and Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman in 2006.{{Cite news |last=Richtmyer |first=Richard |date=August 3, 2006 |title=Arizona publisher buys Anchorage press owner |work=Anchorage Daily News |pages=47}}
Wick sold the LaPlace L'Observateur and Bogalusa Daily News in April 2014 to Carpenter Media Group, a division of Boone Newspapers.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2014-04-02 |title=Newspaper bought by Carpenter Newsmedia |url=https://www.lobservateur.com/2014/04/02/newspaper-bought-by-carpenter-newsmedia/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=L'Observateur |language=en}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bogalusadailynews.com/2014/04/01/purchase-of-the-daily-news-completed/ |title=Purchase of The Daily News completed |last= |first= |date=April 1, 2014 |newspaper=Bogalusa Daily News |publisher=Boone Newspapers |publication-place=|access-date=March 16, 2025|language=en}} That same month, Wick sold the Tucson Weekly and Inside Tucson Business to 10/13 Communications.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Dylan |date=April 18, 2014 |title=Sold! Weekly, Inside Tucson Business change hands |url=https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/041714_territorial_sale/sold-weekly-inside-tucson-business-change-hands/ |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=Tucson Sentinel |language=en-US}} In January 2018, Wick sold The Daily Herald to Paxton Media Group{{cite web |last= |first= |date=2018-01-31 |title=Paxton Media Group purchases The Daily Herald |url=http://www.rrdailyherald.com/news/local/paxton-media-group-purchases-the-daily-herald/article_4d426d22-06be-11e8-a7db-1766a58c2163.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516043105/http://www.rrdailyherald.com/news/local/paxton-media-group-purchases-the-daily-herald/article_4d426d22-06be-11e8-a7db-1766a58c2163.html |archive-date=2018-05-16 |accessdate=2018-05-10 |publisher=The Daily Herald}} and also sold the Half Moon Bay Review in May 2018.{{Cite web |last=Mascarenhas |first=Natasha |date=June 5, 2018 |title=Half Moon Bay Review bought by community members |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Half-Moon-Bay-Review-bought-by-community-members-12967001.php |access-date=October 2, 2024 |website=San Francisco Chronicle}} The company purchased The Wenatchee World in March 2018{{Cite news |last=Romano |first=Benjamin |date=2018-03-29 |title=Woods family sells Wenatchee World to Wick Communications |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/woods-family-sells-wenatchee-world-to-wick-communications/ |access-date=2018-10-03 |work=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}} Acadiana LifeStyle in July 2018,{{Cite news |last=Partsch III |first=Raymond |date=July 5, 2018 |title=Wick buys Acadiana LifeStyle |url=https://www.iberianet.com/news/wick-buys-acadiana-lifestyle/article_53ae0f28-8002-11e8-ba71-bf520038998e.html |access-date=2018-10-03 |work=The Daily Iberian |language=en}} Delta County Independent in Colorado in May 2019{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2019 |title=Wick Communications Acquires the Delta County (CO) Independent |url=https://dirksvanessen.com/press_release/wick-communications-acquires-the-delta-county-co-independent/ |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=Dirks, Van Essen & April |language=en-US}} and The Daily Journal in June 2019.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2019-06-19 |title=Wick Communications purchasing Fergus Falls Daily Journal |url=https://www.wahpetondailynews.com/news/wick-communications-purchasing-fergus-falls-daily-journal/article_455eda6c-9215-11e9-a706-4f7f35f30a2e.html |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=Daily News & News Monitor |language=en}} The company closed the Independent-Enterprise of Payette, Idaho in 2020.{{Cite web |last=Caldwell |first=Pat |date=2024-02-02 |title=Ontario newspaper announces slash in publication days, switch to mail delivery |url=https://www.malheurenterprise.com/2024/02/02/ontario-newspaper-announces-slash-in-publication-days-switch-to-mail-delivery/ |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=Malheur Enterprise |language=en-US}}
Wick purchased the Madison Daily Leader in South Dakota in March 2021.{{Cite web |date=March 2, 2021 |title=Hunter Publishing of Madison, South Dakota Joins Wick Communications |url=https://dirksvanessen.com/press_release/hunter-publishing-of-madison-south-dakota-joins-wick-communications/ |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=Dirks, Van Essen & April |language=en-US}} In September 2023, Wick bought the Arizona Daily Sun from Lee Enterprises.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-09-06 |title=Wick Communications to acquire Flagstaff's Arizona Daily Sun |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/wick-communications-to-acquire-flagstaffs-arizona-daily-sun,245570 |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Editor and Publisher |language=en}} In April 2024, Wick Communications sold The Daily Iberian and Acadian LifeStyle to Carpenter Media Group.{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |last3= |date=2024-04-18 |title=Carpenter Media Group to acquire The Daily Iberian |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/carpenter-media-group-to-acquire-the-daily-iberian,249270 |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=Editor & Publisher |language=en}} In October 2024, the company purchased the television station, NCWLife channel.{{Cite web |last=Bernstein |first=Dave |date=2024-10-01 |title=Wenatchee World Buys NCWLife Channel |url=https://kpq.com/wenatchee-world-buys-ncw-life/ |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=KPQ (AM) |language=en}}
River City Newspapers
River City Newspapers, LLC is a joint venture between Wick Communications and Western News & Info. It was established in August 1995 to manage the Today's News-Herald, a newspaper based in Lake Havasu City, Arizona formed from the merger of Wick's Daily Herald and Western's Today's Daily News.{{Cite news |date=August 24, 1995 |title=Lake Havasu papers merging |work=The Arizona Republic |pages=65}} Wick also transferred ownership of the Parker Pioneer over to River City.{{Cite web |last=Travis |first=Joan M. |date=2013-08-14 |title=Facing East: Pioneer to Celebrate 60 Years |url=https://www.parkerpioneer.net/news/article_d03063ea-9e2c-5130-bbc4-0c4def12cc84.html |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=Parker Pioneer |language=en}}
In 2022, River City purchased the Mohave Valley Daily News, Wickenburg Sun, Laughlin Times and Needles Desert Star from Brehm Communications. Also, River City acquired The Kingman Daily Miner and the Central Printing Facility in Golden Valley, Arizona from Western News&Info.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-21 |title=WNI, Wick expand newspaper locations; acquire Brehm holdings |url=https://www.nhonews.com/news/wni-wick-expand-newspaper-locations-acquire-brehm-holdings/article_3036bd26-b78d-5362-8210-8a6c99e04252.html |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=Navajo-Hopi Observer |language=en}}
Newspapers
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| State | City | Newspaper |
|---|---|---|
| rowspan="2" |Alaska | Wasilla | Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman |
| Anchorage | Anchorage Press | |
| rowspan="15" |Arizona | ||
| Willcox | Arizona Range News | |
| Bisbee | Bisbee Review | |
| Sonoita | The Weekly Bulletin | |
| Clifton | Copper Era | |
| Douglas | Douglas Dispatch | |
| Safford | Eastern Arizona Courier | |
| Green Valley | Green Valley News & Sun | |
| Nogales | Nogales International | |
| Parker | Parker Pioneer (50%) | |
| Benson | San Pedro Valley News-Sun | |
| Sahuarita | Sahuarita Sun | |
| Sierra Vista | Herald Review Media | |
| Tucson | The Daily Territorial | |
| Lake Havasu City | Today's News Herald (50%) | |
| rowspan="2" | Colorado | Delta | Delta County Independent |
| Montrose | Montrose Daily Press | |
| Idaho | Payette | Independent-Enterprise |
| Montana | Sidney | Sidney Herald |
| Minnesota | Fergus Falls | The Daily Journal |
| rowspan="3" | North Dakota | Hankinson | Richland County News-Monitor |
| Wahpeton | Wahpeton Daily News | |
| Williston | Williston Herald | |
| Oregon | Ontario | Argus Observer |
| rowspan="2" | South Dakota | Pierre | Capital Journal |
| Madison
|Madison Daily Leader | ||
| Washington | Wenatchee | The Wenatchee World |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.wickcommunications.com}}
{{Wick Communications}}
Category:Companies based in Arizona
Category:Cochise County, Arizona
Category:Newspaper companies of the United States
Category:Publishing companies established in 1984
Category:1984 establishments in Arizona