east valley tribune

Mesa, AZ 85210

United States Circulation 102,406 Daily

86,507 Sunday[1] Website: EastValleyTribune.com

The East Valley Tribune is a free newspaper distributed four days a week in four cities within the East Valley region of metropolitan Phoenix, including Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek.

Formerly a daily newspaper, the Tribune resulted from the combination of local newspapers acquired by Cox Enterprises: The Tempe Daily News, the Mesa Tribune, the Scottsdale Progress, and the Chandler Arizonan. The East Valley Tribune is now owned by Freedom Communications of Irvine, California, parent company of the Orange County Register.

History

In 1891, Mesa's first newspaper, the Evening Weekly Free Press, was founded by attorney Alfred P. Shewman and Judge W.D. Morton. In 1899, Judge W.D. Morton sold out to Shewman, who died in 1901. Frank T. Pomeroy and Harry D. Haines bought the paper in 1910 and converted into a daily publication, The Evening Press. In 1911, the paper was sold and in 1913 became the Mesa Daily Tribune. In 1925 the paper was renamed the Mesa Daily Journal. In 1928 it was published as the Daily Mesa Evening Journal. In 1932 Southside Publishing Company, a corporation of Mesa and Chandler businessmen, acquired ownership. Over the next 7 years stock was purchased by P.R. Mitten and his son, Charles. In 1939 Charles Mitten bought out his father's share. Mitten began printing the paper 5 days a week after WWII under the name of the Mesa Daily Tribune. In 1950 Mitten sold the Tribune to David W. Calvert.

In 1952, the Tribune Publishing Company was incorporated. On January 26, 1956, the Tribune publishing plant on Macdonald Street was destroyed by fire and opened five months later at 120 W. 1st Avenue, where it remains today. In 1977, Cox Enterprises of Atlanta, GA, purchased the Tribune from Calvert.

Cox Newspapers purchased the Tempe Daily News in 1980, the Chandler Arizonan in 1983, started the Gilbert Tribune in 1990, and purchased the Scottsdale Progress in 1993. Cox Newspapers sold its newspaper holdings to Thomson Newspapers in December, 1996 and in May 1997, under the leadership of its publisher, Karen Wittmer, all five newspapers were combined into one newspaper, The Tribune, serving eastern Maricopa County with a Scottsdale edition serving its northern communities.

In December 1997, the Daily News-Sun in Sun City, Arizona, and the Ahwatukee Foothills News, on the southeastern border of Phoenix, in November 1998, joined the Tribune as part of its Phoenix SMG (Strategic Marketing Group). In December 1999, the Tribune was renamed the East Valley Tribune and in August, 2000, Thomson Newspapers sold its newspaper holdings to Freedom Communications, Inc. of Irvine, Calif.

On Oct. 6, 2008, publisher Julie Moreno announced that newspaper would