Cox Enterprises history

In 1905, Cox acquired the Springfield Press-Republic published in Springfield, Ohio and renamed it, the Springfield Daily News.

Though they lost the 1920 election, both made their marks as Roosevelt later became president and Governor Cox focused his energy on growing his newspapers.

In 1923 he acquired the Miami Metropolis, in Florida, changing its name to the Miami Daily News, and the Canton News, in Canton, Ohio.

In 1930 he sold the Canton paper and bought the Springfield Sun, in Ohio.

Years later and at the urging of Governor Cox’s son, James M. Cox Jr., Cox entered the radio business, starting with WHIO in Dayton in 1935.

That appeals strongly to me.” He later called purchasing The Journal “the rounding out of a dream." Pictured, The front page of The Journal from December 18, 1939, with a telegraph from Franklin D. Roosevelt welcoming Cox to Atlanta.

On September 29, 1948, Cox's WSB-TV, later referred to as the "Eyes of the South", aired the first television broadcast in Atlanta.

WHIO-TV in Ohio's Miami Valley soon followed, airing its first broadcasts on February 23, 1949.

Governor Cox purchased The Atlanta Constitution in 1950, just a few days before his 80th birthday.

James Middleton Cox died Tuesday, July 15, 1957, at his Trailsend home near Dayton, Ohio.

The family acquired AM and FM radio stations and a television station, all operating under the call letters WSOC, in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1959.

The Coxes were among the first major broadcasters to enter cable television, acquiring a cable system in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, in 1962.

In 1963 they acquired KTVU-TV in the San Francisco-Oakland, California, area and radio stations WIOD-AM and WAIA-FM in Miami.

Cox entered the automotive industry in 1965 with the purchase of Black Book.

Until incorporated as a single entity in 1968, Cox Enterprises operated as an assortment of media businesses owned by the Cox family.

In 1969 the newspaper group added three Florida daily papers: the Palm Beach Daily News, the Palm Beach Evening Times, and the Palm Beach Post.

Acquiring TeleRep in 1972

Later in 1973, Cox Cable set a merger with LVO Cable Inc., but subsequently called it off because of market conditions.

Also in 1975, it bought a cable television system in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Cox Enterprises acquired four Texas newspapers in 1976--the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald, the Port Arthur News, and the Lufkin Daily News.

Also in 1977, the broadcasting operation acquired WLIF-FM, Baltimore, Maryland, and Cox Enterprises bought the Mesa Tribune in Arizona.

The major event of 1979, however, was the Cox family's negotiation of a sale of Cox Broadcasting to General Electric Company (GE), in what would have been the biggest broadcasting merger in history.

GE's extensive broadcast holdings, however, resulted in a barrage of complaints to the FCC about concentration of ownership; the delays resulting from these complaints postponed the sale and paved the way for price renegotiations, which led to the deal's collapse early in 1980.

In 1982, CBC moved its headquarters to the Atlanta area and changed its name to Cox Communications, Inc.

The year 1983 was an acquisitive one.

Cox Communications bought another auto auction, in Houston, Texas, in 1984.

1985 Merger of Cox Enterprises and Cox Communications

In 1987 Cox Enterprises sold its Philadelphia radio station to Malrite Communications Group and sold its Datext unit to Lotus Development Corporation.

1988: James C. Kennedy is named chairman and chief executive officer of Cox Enterprises.

Also in 1989, Cox's cable group topped the 1.5 million customer mark.

The rollback altered the value that Southwestern Bell put on its investment in Cox Cable, and led to its backing out of the merger in April 1994.

The deal closed in February 1995, increasing Cox Cable's base from 1.9 to 3.2 million customers and moving it into fifth place among cable operators.

Rysher subsequently evolved into a network television and film production company, developing Nash Bridges for CBS, the television movie Rasputin for HBO, and the motion pictures Primal Fear, Evening Star, and Big Night, all in 1996 alone.

AutoTrader.com launched in 1997 as a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises.

As Cox Enterprises celebrated its centennial in 1998 and prepared for its next 100 years of business, the company held sway as one of the most powerful media conglomerates in the world.

In 1999, Autotrader.com was founded revolutionizing the way people buy and sell used cars.

Kennedy consolidated the company's flagship newspapers, merging the Atlanta Constitution, a morning paper, with the Atlanta Journal, an evening paper, in November 2001.

In 2005, Manheim announced the opening of offices in China, with one in Shanghai and one in Beijing.

In 2007, Chairman Jim Kennedy formalized the company’s sustainability efforts through Cox Conserves.

In 2013, the fund was renamed the Cox Employee Relief Fund (CERF) to reflect the expansion of the Fund to include costs for injury or illness and loss of a family member.

In 2014, Cox Enterprises brought its automotive-related businesses (which by then included vAuto and NextGear Capital) together under the Cox Automotive name.

In August 2018, Cox Enterprises celebrated its 120-year anniversary with its employees and community through stories and images.

Cox Enterprises completed the sale of Cox Media Group (CMG) to affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. in December 2019.