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The Southern Illinoisan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Southern Illinoisan
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Paxton Media Group
Headquarters710 North Illinois Ave.
Carbondale, IL 62902
United States
Circulation7,220 Daily (as of 2022)[1]
Websitethesouthern.com
Logo of The Southern Illinoisan (August 13, 2014)

The Southern Illinoisan is a daily newspaper and multimedia news platform based in Carbondale, Illinois, known locally as "The Southern." It is one of the major regional newspaper and media services for southern Illinois.

The most recent Editor of The Southern Illinoisan was 22-year-old Jackson Brandhorst, a native of Carbondale, Illinois.[2]

History

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The Southern Illinoisan was created in 1947 when Lindsay-Schaub Newspapers of Decatur, Illinois, purchased three area newspapers—the Daily Free Press of Carbondale, the Murphysboro Daily Independent and the Herrin Daily Journal—and merged them into a single publication.[3][4] Lee Enterprises purchased the Southern Illinoisan and other Lindsay-Schaub papers in 1979.[5]

In 2018, news room staff voted to unionize following an unannounced mass layoff earlier in the year.[6]

Starting June 20, 2023, the print edition of the newspaper was reduced to three days a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The newspaper also transitioned from being delivered by a traditional newspaper delivery carrier to mail delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.[7]

In October 2023, Lee Enterprises sold the newspaper to Paxton Media Group.[8] Lee Enterprises' sale of The Southern Illinoisan was delayed after pushback from the newspapers union guild. The guild contested the sale after learning that the new owners, Paxton Media Group, would not be retaining any of the guild employees once the sale was final.[9] Paxton Media Group were officially handed the reins of the newspaper on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023 and all employees who were formerly working at the newspaper under Lee Enterprises were subsequently let go under Paxton rule.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Lee Enterprises. "Form 10-K". investors.lee.net. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Southern, The (2023-01-11). "Brandhorst assumes role as Editor-in-Chief". Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  3. ^ "Lee, Lindsay-Schaub 'compatible'". Decatur Daily Review. January 26, 1979. p. 15.
  4. ^ Hammond, Trevor (January 23, 2015). "The Southern Illinoisan". Fishwrap. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  5. ^ "About Us". Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  6. ^ Green, Carl (2018-05-16). "Staff at The Southern Illinoisan votes to join the United Media Guild". The Labor Tribune. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  7. ^ Brandhorst, Jackson (2023-05-20). "Your expanded Southern Illinoisan coming soon". Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  8. ^ "Paxton Media Group Acquires The Southern Illinoisan Newspaper". WPSD Local 6. 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  9. ^ "Workers denounce plans to sell The Southern Illinoisan | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA". 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  10. ^ Wicentowski, Danny (December 12, 2023). "The Southern Illinoisan was sold. Then the new owner eliminated its entire news staff". STLPR. Retrieved 2023-12-13.