Wick Communications

Wick Communications
Company typePrivate
IndustryNewspapers
FoundedJuly 30, 1984 (1984-07-30)[1]
FounderMilton I. Wick and his James L. Wick
HeadquartersSierra Vista, Arizona, U.S.
Key people
Francis Wick, President and CEO
Susan Ellis, CFO
John D'Orlando, COO
Reilly Kneedler, CoS
Number of employees
400+[2][3]
Websitewickcommunications.com

Wick Communications (formerly known as Wick Newspaper Group)[4] is a family-owned media company with 18 newspapers in 10 states.[5] 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.[6]

The Wick family

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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.[7] The two purchased their first newspaper in 1926.[8][9] Over the years Milton managed the business and acquired 27 papers across the country.[9] 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."[10]

In 1953, James organized a European tour with a group of 37 newspaper editors,[11] including his brother.[9] 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.[7] The Wick brothers were among the first party of U.S. journalists allowed inside the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin.[9] At the time of his death in 1964, James was the editor and publisher of Human Events, a Conservative newsletter.[11] Right before passing, he sold his interest in Wick Newspapers to his brother Milton's sons Walter M. Wick and Robert J. Wick.[12] 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.[9]

Milton I. Wick was inducted posthumously into the Arizona Newspapers Hall of Fame in 1996,[13] and Walt M. Wick and Robert J. Wick were also inducted in September 2004.[13]

In 2016, Robert's son Francis Wick was named CEO of Wick Communications.[12] That same year Walter M. Wick died of pancreatic cancer.[14]Robert J. Wick died in 2022.[15] In August 2024, Francis Wick announced he will step down as company CEO.[5]

Acquisitions and sales

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The company originated in 1926 when the Wick family purchased the Niles Daily Times in Niles, Ohio.[8][9] The company bought The Daily Herald in 1947[16] and Williston Herald in 1961.[17][18] 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.[19] In 1962, Wick purchased a stake in the Sidney Herald.[20]

The Wicks acquired the Sierra Vista Herald in 1967,[21] the Argus Observer in 1968,[22] Bisbee Review in 1974[23] and Green Valley News in 1978,[24] Eastern Arizona Courier in 1983,[25][26] KFMM and KCUZ in 1983,[26] the Parker Pioneer in 1985,[27] the L'Observateur in 1986,[28] Half Moon Bay Review in 1986,[29] Richland County Leader in 1988,[30] Douglas Daily Dispatch in 1989;[31] The Daily Territorial, The Weekly Territorial and Ore Valley Territorial in 1990,[32] Inside Tucson Business in 1992,[33] Montrose Daily Press in 1997,[34] Tucson Weekly in 2000,[35] Capital Journal in 2005;[36]Anchorage Press and Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman in 2006.[37]

Wick sold L'Observateur and The Daily News of Bogalusa in April 2014 to Carpenter Media Group.[38][39] That same month, Wick sold the Tucson Weekly and Inside Tucson Business to 10/13 Communications.[33] In January 2018, Wick sold The Daily Herald to Paxton Media Group[40] and also sold the Half Moon Bay Review in May 2018.[41] The company purchased The Wenatchee World in March 2018[42] Acadiana LifeStyle in July 2018,[43] Delta County Independent in Colorado in May 2019[44] and The Daily Journal in June 2019.[45] The company closed the Independent-Enterprise of Payette, Idaho in 2020.[46]

Wick purchased the Madison Daily Leader in South Dakota in March 2021.[47] In September 2023, Wick bought the Arizona Daily Sun from Lee Enterprises.[48] In April 2024, Wick Communications sold The Daily Iberian and Acadian LifeStyle to Carpenter Media Group.[49] In October 2024, the company purchased the television station, NCWLife channel.[50]

River City Newspapers

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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.[51] Wick also transferred ownership of the Parker Pioneer over to River City.[52]

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 Miner and the Central Printing Facility in Golden Valley, Arizona from Western News&Info.[53]

Newspapers

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State City Newspaper
Alaska Wasilla Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman
Anchorage Anchorage Press
Arizona Flagstaff Arizona Daily Sun
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%)
Colorado Delta Delta County Independent
Montrose Montrose Daily Press
Idaho Payette Independent-Enterprise
Montana Sidney Sidney Herald
Minnesota Fergus Falls The Daily Journal
North Dakota Hankinson Richland County News-Monitor
Wahpeton Wahpeton Daily News
Williston Williston Herald
Oregon Ontario Argus Observer
South Dakota Pierre Capital Journal
Madison Madison Daily Leader
Washington Wenatchee The Wenatchee World

References

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  1. ^ "Ariz. Corp. Comm. – Corporations Division". Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  2. ^ "Wick Communications Company Profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  3. ^ "Board of Directors". Wick Communications Co. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  4. ^ "Wick Communications Co.:Private Company Information". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Dudley, Brier (August 9, 2024). "Q&A: Francis Wick on saving local news, NW journalism and more". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "Locations". Wick Communications Co. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Milton I. Wick, Daily News Chairman, dies at age of 82". Daily News. December 1, 1981. p. 1.
  8. ^ a b "Wick". NABUR. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Veteran publisher dies in Arizona". St. Joseph News-Press. December 1, 1981. p. 6.
  10. ^ Barton, Bruce (June 22, 1952). "Bruce Barton Says: Bob or Ike?". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 128.
  11. ^ a b "JAMES WICK DIES; PUBLISHER WAS 67; Editor of Human Events, a Conservative Newsletter". The New York Times. November 8, 1964. p. 89. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Francis Wick named CEO of Wick Communications". Williston Herald. February 9, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "THE HISTORY OF SERVICE". Wick Communications. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  14. ^ Smith, Dylan (December 28, 2016). "Former SV Herald publisher Walter Wick dies at 85 | Obituary". Tucson Sentinel. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "Robert Wick, champion of art, newspapers and community, dies at 86". Navajo-Hopi Observer. January 18, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  16. ^ "Weekly Newspaper Changes To Daily At Roanoke Rapids". The Daily Times-News. September 13, 1948. p. 9.
  17. ^ "Business Notes: Handles Sales". The News and Observer. August 25, 1961. p. 31.
  18. ^ "Williston Herald Paper Sold to Niles Editor". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. August 21, 196. p. 1.
  19. ^ "Niles Daily Times Sold". The Evening Independent. October 3, 1961. p. 4.
  20. ^ "Porton of Sidney Herald Stock Changes Hands". The Sidney Herald. April 18, 1962. p. 1.
  21. ^ "Huachuca paper now in 13th year". The Arizona Republic. October 8, 1968. p. 8.
  22. ^ "Chain Buys Newspaper In Ontario". The Idaho Statesman. June 20, 1968. p. 5.
  23. ^ "Bisbee sale of weekly is announced". The Arizona Republic. November 9, 1974. p. 37.
  24. ^ "Wick Newspaper Group buys Green Valley News". Arizona Daily Star. November 26, 1978. p. 34.
  25. ^ "Robert Gentry (Obituary)". The Arizona Republic. July 6, 1984. p. 32.
  26. ^ a b "Wick moving into radio scene". Arizona Daily Star. November 14, 1983. p. 31.
  27. ^ "Wick buys newspaper". Tucson Citizen. January 10, 1985. p. 29.
  28. ^ "LaPlace Weekly Sold to Chain". The Daily Review. April 7, 1986. p. 5.
  29. ^ Hayden, Sara (November 22, 2017). "Parent company seeks to sell HMB Review". Half Moon Bay Review. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  30. ^ "5-year Sidney press war ends as newspapers merge". The Billings Gazette. February 14, 1988. p. 33.
  31. ^ "Owner of 2 Cochise County dailies to buy Douglas Dispatch on Nov. 1". Arizona Daily Star. October 21, 1989. p. 22.
  32. ^ Ducote, Richard (May 9, 1990). "3 Territorial papers sold to Wick Co". Arizona Daily Star. p. 40.
  33. ^ a b Smith, Dylan (April 18, 2014). "Sold! Weekly, Inside Tucson Business change hands". Tucson Sentinel. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  34. ^ "Wick Communications acquires Colorado paper". Arizona Daily Star. February 17, 1997. p. 52.
  35. ^ Fischer, Alan D. (March 3, 2000). "Sierra Vista's Wick chain buys Tucson Weekly". Arizona Daily Star. p. 35.
  36. ^ "Arizona group buys Pierre newspaper". Argus-Leader. September 29, 2005. p. 18.
  37. ^ Richtmyer, Richard (August 3, 2006). "Arizona publisher buys Anchorage press owner". Anchorage Daily News. p. 47.
  38. ^ "Newspaper bought by Carpenter Newsmedia". L'Observateur. April 2, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  39. ^ "Purchase of The Daily News completed". The Bogalusa Daily News. April 1, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  40. ^ "Paxton Media Group purchases The Daily Herald". The Daily Herald. January 31, 2018. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  41. ^ Mascarenhas, Natasha (June 5, 2018). "Half Moon Bay Review bought by community members". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  42. ^ Romano, Benjamin (March 29, 2018). "Woods family sells Wenatchee World to Wick Communications". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  43. ^ Partsch III, Raymond (July 5, 2018). "Wick buys Acadiana LifeStyle". The Daily Iberian. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  44. ^ "Wick Communications Acquires the Delta County (CO) Independent". Dirks, Van Essen & April. May 1, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  45. ^ "Wick Communications purchasing Fergus Falls Daily Journal". Daily News & News Monitor. June 19, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  46. ^ Caldwell, Pat (February 2, 2024). "Ontario newspaper announces slash in publication days, switch to mail delivery". Malheur Enterprise. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  47. ^ "Hunter Publishing of Madison, South Dakota Joins Wick Communications". Dirks, Van Essen & April. March 2, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  48. ^ "Wick Communications to acquire Flagstaff's Arizona Daily Sun". Editor and Publisher. September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  49. ^ "Carpenter Media Group to acquire The Daily Iberian". Editor & Publisher. April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  50. ^ Bernstein, Dave (October 1, 2024). "Wenatchee World Buys NCWLife Channel". KPQ (AM). Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  51. ^ "Lake Havasu papers merging". The Arizona Republic. August 24, 1995. p. 65.
  52. ^ Travis, Joan M. (August 14, 2013). "Facing East: Pioneer to Celebrate 60 Years". Parker Pioneer. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  53. ^ "WNI, Wick expand newspaper locations; acquire Brehm holdings". Navajo-Hopi Observer. September 21, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
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