Brush-Moore Newspapers

Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc. was a United States newspaper group based in Ohio which had its origins in 1923 and was sold to Thomson Newspapers in 1967 for $72 million, the largest ever newspaper transaction at that time.^[1][2]

Brush-Moore Newspapers

Industry	Media
Founded	1927
Defunct	1967
Fate	Acquired by Thomson Newspapers

In 1923, Louis Herbert Brush, who had joined the Salem News (of Salem, Ohio) as a manager in 1894 and purchased it in 1897,^[3] entered into a partnership with Roy Donald Moore and William Henry Vodrey, Jr. to purchase The Marion Star from then-U.S. President Warren G. Harding.^[4][5] By 1924, Time magazine already noted the group as one of the prominent newspaper groups in the country, with four papers and a total circulation of 30,906.^[6] In 1927, the "Brush-Moore" chain was created from their holdings.^[3]

Brush and Moore

Joseph K. Vodrey, son of W.H. Vodrey Jr., became general manager of Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc. in 1946. Vodrey was Vice-President and a member of the Brush-Moore board of directors from 1951 to 1968, when he retired. He also served as Vice-President and as a Director of the Beaverkettle Company.

At the time of the 1967 sale, Brush-Moore owned 12 daily papers, including six in Ohio (the Canton Repository, East Liverpool Review, Salem News, Steubenville Herald, Marion Star, and Portsmouth Times) three in California (Times-Standard, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and Oxnard Press-Courier), and one in Maryland (Salisbury Daily Times), Pennsylvania (Hanover Evening Sun), and West Virginia (Weirton Daily Times), with a total circulation of approximately 540,000.^[1][7]

Holdings

Ohio

• Salem News. Owned by Brush since 1897. Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• East Liverpool Review. Acquired by Brush in 1901.^[8] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• The Marion Star. Acquired in 1923 from President Warren G. Harding. Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• Steubenville Herald Acquired 1925.^[8] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• Canton Repository. Acquired 1927.^[9] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• Portsmouth Times. Acquired 1930.^[10][11] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• Canton Daily News. Acquired and shut down this 97-year-old paper in 1930, leaving Brush-Moore with the only evening paper in the town.^[12]
• Ironton Tribune. Acquired 50% interest in 1930, and full ownership in 1955.^[11] Sold in 1960s prior to sale to Thomson.^{[citation needed]}

California

• San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Acquired 1960.^[13] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• Oxnard Press-Courier. Acquired 1963.^[14] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• Times-Standard (Eureka). Acquired in 1967, and sold to Thomson the same year.^[15]

Other

• Salisbury Daily Times (Maryland). Acquired 1937.^[16] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• Hanover Evening Sun (Pennsylvania). Acquired 1958.^[17] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• Weirton Daily Times. Acquired 1962.^[18] Sold to Thomson in 1967.
• In 1964, Brush-Moore attempted to purchase the Arizona Daily Star.^[19]

Radio

Ohio Broadcasting Co. was a subsidiary of Brush-Moore which focused on radio interests.

• WHBC (AM) (Canton, Ohio). Purchased 1936.
• WPAY (AM) (Portsmouth, Ohio), acquired in 1944 through purchase of Scioto Broadcasting company.^[8]
• WONE (AM) (Dayton, Ohio). Purchased in 1961,^[20] sold in 1964 to Group One Broadcasting.^[21][22]
• WONE-FM (now WTUE) (Dayton, Ohio). Purchased in 1961,^[20] sold in 1964 to Group One Broadcasting.^[21][22]
• WONE-TV (now WKEF). Dayton television station, purchased in 1961,^[20] sold in 1963 to Springfield Television.^[23][24]
• WPDQ (Jacksonville, Florida). Sold in 1964 to Belk Broadcasting Co.^[25]