Washington Missourian

The Washington Missourian is the Franklin County newspaper based in Washington, Missouri. The paper is owned by Hoffman Media Group. In addition to news stories in Washington, the paper covers the nearby cities of Union, St. Clair, and Pacific, as well as local stories from the surrounding areas.

Washington Missourian

Type	Twice-weekly newspaper
Owner(s)	Missourian Publishing Company
Publisher	Bill Miller Jr.
Editor	Ethan Colbert
Founded	1860; 165 years ago (1860)
Language	English
Headquarters	6321 Bluff Road Washington, MO 63090
City	Washington, Missouri
Country	United States
Circulation	10,050[1]
Website	emissourian.com
Media of the United States List of newspapers

History

The Franklin County-Gazette was founded on January 5, 1860.^[2] In April 1861, the name was changed to the Franklin County News. In April 1867, it became the Franklin County Observer. That name lasted until August 1926 when it was changed to the Washington Missourian.^[3]

In 1937, James L. Miller Sr. purchased the paper from J. N. McClure.^[4] He was later succeeded by his son William L. Miller Sr., who worked at The Missourian for over 67 years until his retirement.^[5] He ran the newspaper until June 10, 2020, when he stepped down after facing backlash for publishing a racially insensitive political cartoon by Tom Stiglich. His daughters, Susan Miller Warden and Jeanne Miller Wood had resigned as owners of the company in protest earlier that day.^[6][7]

In June 2025, the Miller family sold the paper to the Hoffmann Family of Companies.^[5][8]