Sarasota Herald-Tribune history

Somehow they were able to keep their fledgling business going during the Great Depression and the hard times that came before it when Florida's first land boom went bust in 1926.

By 1927, the Lindsays bought out their partners and became the paper's sole owners.

The company's role as a leader in technology began in 1929, when Frank Gannett co-invented the teletypesetter.

Their afternoon daily faced competition from the Sarasota Tribune, a morning newspaper launched in 1934, until the Lindsays bought their rival four years later and renamed their paper to reflect the merger: the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Neuharth continued as chairman of the Gannett Foundation, which was established in 1935 by Frank Gannett to promote free press, freedom of information and better journalism, adult literacy, community problem-solving, and volunteerism.

In 1938, before color was used much in newspapers, many Gannett presses were adapted for color; much later, with its USA Today, the company would continue to be a leader in color use.

1942: The Gannett wire service is established.

The Gannett National Service was founded in 1943 and provided Gannett newspapers with national enterprise and stories with a local angle from its Washington office and bureaus across the nation.

And in 1945, Gannett newspapers became the first newspaper group to be united by the Telephoto Network.

When their father died in 1946, David Lindsay added the duties of editor to his role as publisher.

Another key executive, Paul Miller, joined the company in 1947, becoming Gannett's executive assistant.

Sunshine Springs and Gardens To Open Winter of 1955-56.

As their staff and number of news pages expanded to cover a growing community, the Lindsays moved their operations in 1957 to a new and much larger building not far away at United States 41 and Wood Street.

Allen H. Neuharth, who had been executive vice president since 1966, became president and chief operating officer.

Gannett went public in 1967.

David Lindsay Sr. continued to visit the newspaper offices almost daily until his death in 1968 at the age of 74.

Sarasota by Jeff LaHurd: A.B. Edwards was so instrumental in this area’s growth and success that by the time he died in 1969 he had earned the nickname “Mr.

In 1979 Gannett merged with Combined Communications in what was then the largest merger in the communications industry.

In 1982 the company began publishing USA Today, the United States’ first national, general-interest newspaper.

A new printing plant near the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport allowed the paper to publish its first color photographs in 1984.

In 2001, the company moved to its current headquarters in Tysons Corner, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Its former headquarters building, the Gannett Building, was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1985.

With executive travel increasing between Rochester and Arlington, Va., where USA TODAY is based, Gannett decided in 1986 to relocate its corporate headquarters to Arlington.

The company gradually built up a portfolio of 19 New York dailies by 1989.

Since Gannett held more of Detroit's market share before the merger, it took a loss during the venture's first year, 1990.

On July 4, 1991, the philanthropy's name was changed to the Freedom Forum, and its mission was changed to focus on First Amendment and other strictly journalistic issues.

September 1992 marked ten unprofitable years for USA Today.

Gannett began the process of adding and paring away businesses in 1995.

Sarasota Over My Shoulder: In 1996, to celebrate Sarasota County’s 75th anniversary, the Sarasota County Commission published this booklet.

In December 1997, Gannett sold its last five radio stations to Evergreen Media, ending its radio ownership.

In May 1998 the Cincinnati Enquirer, a Gannett-owned newspaper, ran an 18-page exposé on the banana titan, alleging numerous questionable business practices, but it was soon alleged that Enquirer reporter Mike Gallagher had illegally obtained Chiquita voice-mail messages.

The cable division was sold to Cox Communications in January 2000.

In 2001, the company moved to a new Gannett/USA TODAY headquarters in McLean, Va., about seven miles from Arlington.

In March, 2003, Newsquest acquired SMG Publishing, which added three Scottish regional newspapers, The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times, as well as a series of non-daily publications, to the company.

In late 2004, however, even with occasional assaults, Gannett was clearly secure financially and in its role as an industry leader.

On July 15, 2005, McCorkindale relinquished his roles as President and CEO to Craig Dubow, who was President and CEO of Gannett Broadcasting.

A little less than a year later, McCorkindale announced his retirement from the board and the company, effective June 30, 2006.

Bob Dickey, Gannett’s United States newspapers division president, was paid $3.4 million in 2010, up from $1.9 million the previous year.

In 2011, Gannett was criticized for laying off 700 United States employees as a cost-cutting measure after having increased executive salaries and bonuses.

In February 2012, Gannett announced that it would be implementing a paywall system across all of its newspaper websites, with non-subscriber access will be limited to between five and fifteen articles per month, varying by newspaper.

On June 13, 2013, Gannett announced plans to buy Dallas-based Belo Corporation for $1.5 billion and the assumption of debt.

In 2014, Newsquest launched The National, a new daily newspaper in Scotland.

On June 29, 2015, Gannett separated into two companies.

In 2016, Gannett acquired the Journal Media Group, North Jersey Media Group and online marketing company ReachLocal, and invested in the digital media company Digg.

In 2017, Gannett acquired SweetIQ, a provider of location and reputation management software that enables businesses to manage their location data and measure consumer engagement.