History and Politics
Founded by Joshua L. Foster on June 18, 1873, the paper was named after the U.S. Democratic Party, which then was the conservative and less-popular party in New England. Foster was already known, by then, as a political firebrand; one of his previous publishing ventures had been the States and Union, a pro-slavery paper in nearby Portsmouth, New Hampshire, during the American Civil War.
Foster's Daily Democrat still takes a conservative line in its editorial pages, and its editorials tends to back Republicans. Foster's endorsed George W. Bush in the 2000 New Hampshire primary, although the paper backed no one in the general election. It also endorsed District 1 Congressman Jeb Bradley on a number of occasions and it is considered rare for a Democratic candidate to get an endorsement from Foster's. Foster's is in favor of the death penalty.
In the 2004 New Hampshire Democratic primary, the paper endorsed Joe Lieberman, generally considered a more conservative Democrat. Yet its editorial stated that readers should be "absolutely clear on one thing. Foster's Daily Democrat remains fully supportive of President Bush."
In 1988, editor Rodney G. Doherty described himself as a "black sheep" of journalism and said he edits "a blue-collar paper." He said he prefers a hard-news, top-down style of newsroom management, with young reporters filing several quick stories based on assignments from editors, rather than longer, more analytical pieces. He said likes to see reporters write about "what is news, rather than what they think is the news."
Colin Manning, who wrote Foster's statehouse notebook, later went on to be New Hampshire governor John Lynch's communications director.
As of 2009, Doherty is the executive editor of the paper. The managing editor is Mary Pat Rowland. The assistant managing editor is Mike Gillis. The editorial page editor is Jon Breen.
Foster's Daily Democrat was an afternoon publication for 135 years until November 26, 2007, when it switched to morning publication. At the time, Doherty said morning publication would be more convenient for readers, and would allow the paper to update its Website earlier in the day.
Read more about this topic: Foster's Daily Democrat
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