Type Daily newspaper Owner(s) Ogden Newspapers Inc. Editor Jane Curtis | Format Broadsheet Publisher Larry Bushman | |
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Founded July 31, 1856 (as Fort Dodge Sentinel) | ||
The Messenger is a newspaper that is printed and delivered to the Fort Dodge, Iowa, area. That area covers Buena Vista, Calhoun, Green, Hamilton, Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster, and Wright counties. It was founded on July 31, 1856. It is printed 7 days a week. The Messenger′s slogan is: "Spend a few minutes with us ... 7 days a week!" The Messenger′s current circulation is 18,788 Monday through Saturday and 21,161 Sundays. It is printed with soy ink.
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Brief history
The Messenger of Fort Dodge, Iowa, came into existence as the Fort Dodge Sentinel on July 31, 1856, as a weekly poetry and prose publication. Selling for $2 per year, The Sentinel had a circulation of 1,200 at the time. In 1860, the name changed to The Fort Dodge Republican and increased its size to eight pages. In 1864, the name was changed to Iowa North West to reflect the expanded coverage of the newspaper. In fact, the publication at the time was the only newspaper between Sioux City, Iowa, and Fort Dodge. In 1884, the newspaper went daily as the population and news in the Fort Dodge region increased. In 1917, the newspaper merged with The Chronicle, another Fort Dodge newspaper, and the name became The Fort Dodge Messenger and Chronicle. In later years, the "Chronicle" title was dropped and the newspaper was officially known as The Fort Dodge Messenger. In 1963, The Messenger was purchased by Ogden Newspapers of Wheeling, West Virginia, a newspaper group with more than 40 newspaper holdings. In 2006 The Messenger celebrated its 150th anniversary.