Winston-Salem Journal - History

History

The Winston-Salem Journal, started by Charles Langdon Knight, began publishing in the afternoons on April 3, 1897. The area's other newspaper, the Twin City Sentinel, also was an afternoon paper. Knight moved out of the area and the Journal had several owenrs before publisher D.A. Fawcett made it a morning paper starting January 2, 1902.

Later that summer the Journal began publishing on Sundays, after which Fawcett's church removed him from its membership. In 1903, A.F.W. Leslie and his son, A.V. Leslie bought the paper. The elder Leslie, an artist and the son of an engraver, made the Journal the state's first newspaper to have photos.

Owen Moon bought the Journal in 1925 and the Sentinel, owned by Frank A. Gannett of the New York newspaper chain, in 1927.

The Sentinel began as the Twin City Daily on May 4, 1885, serving both Winston and Salem. The Weekly Gleaner, founded by John Christian Blum on January 6, 1829, served the small community of Salem and was later taken over by the weekly Western Sentinel, the first newspaper in Winston on May 16, 1856. The Twin City Daily, in turn, took over the Sentinel.

The Journal And Sentinel moved into a new building on North Marshall Street in 1927, and the Sunday edition was called The Journal and Sentinel. Editor Santford Martin advocated improvements in the roads, especially in "the forgotten provinces" of Northwest North Carolina. WSJS, an AM radio station, and later WSJS-FM and WSJS-TV, took their call letters from "Winston-Salem Journal Sentinel" because the newspapers once owned all three stations.

Attorney Gordon Gray bought the papers on April 30, 1937, to Gordon Gray. His commitment to serving communities throughout the papers' coverage area continued even after Media General Inc. purchased the newspapers in 1969.

In March 1985, at a time when many afternoon newspapers could not compete, The Sentinel closed. This meant a stronger morning paper, and an increase in circulation from 73,000 to over 94,000, with Sunday circulation of 106,000.

In September 1994 the Journal moved some of its operations into a new 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) building on East 5th Street, with a Mitsubishi press that allowed improvements in color printing.

Other publications from the Journal serve older adults, people with pets, families with children in Forsyth County schools, prospective brides and young parents.