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Created page with "'''''The News Star''''' is the principal newspaper of Monroe and northeastern Louisiana. Its circulation area ranges over some dozen parishes fro..."
'''''The News Star''''' is the principal [[newspaper]] of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] and northeastern [[Louisiana]]. Its circulation area ranges over some dozen parishes from [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in Lincoln Parish, on the west, to Tallulah in Madison Parish on the east, to the [[Arkansas]] state line on the north, and to Ferriday in Concordia Parish on the south. The newspaper is a [[Gannett]] Company publication.
==History==
''The News Star'' began in 1890 as the ''Monroe Evening News.'' [[John Travis Nixon]], a native of [[Illinois]], and a partner, Julius Cheney, became the publishers in 1893, but Nixon soon left for Crowley in Acadia Parish, where he began what is now the ''Crowley Post Signal.''<ref>Dictionary of Louisiana Biography - N - Louisiana Historical Association (lahistory.org), accessed April 17, 2021.</ref>
In 1909, coincidentally the year that John Travis Nixon died at the age of forty-one, ''The Evening News'' merged with ''The Daily Star'' to form the afternoon newspaper, ''The Monroe News-Star.''<ref name=nstar>[http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/CUSTOMERSERVICE02/41202001 About Us | thenewsstar.com | The News Star<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1908, [[Robert Wilson Ewing, I]] (1859–1931), while still the [[publisher]] of the since defunct ''New Orleans Daily States,'' purchased ''The Shreveport Times''. In 1929, Ewing bought the since defunct ''Monroe Morning World''. In 1930, he acquired the ''News-Star'', since switched from an afternoon to a morning publication. Ewing was accordingly among the two or three most influential persons in the Louisiana [[journalism]] community.<ref name=dict>Dictionary of Louisiana Biography - E - Louisiana Historical Association (lahistory.org), accessed april 17, 2021.</ref>ref>
The two Monroe newspapers remained in the Ewing family until the Gannett acquisition on June 16, 1977. The ''Morning World'' and ''The News-Star'' consolidated on August 4, 1980, to become ''The News-Star-World.'' The name was later changed and the first edition of ''The News Star,'' since a morning paper,'' was printed on May 22, 1988.<ref name=nstar/>
John Dunbrack Ewing (1892–1952), one of the five sons of Robert Ewing, was editor and [[publisher]] of ''The Shreveport Times'' and the ''Monroe News-Star-World'' from 1931 until his death. John Ewing moved to [[Shreveport]] in 1915 to become the associate publisher of ''The Shreveport Times'.'' When his father died, Ewing became the publisher of the ''Shreveport Times'' and both Monroe papers. All three newspapers were known for their [[conservative]] editorials.<ref name=dict</ref>
[[Robert Ewing, III]], a nephew of John Ewing, was a nature [[photographer]] and served as a ''News Star'' board member.<ref>http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/OBITUARIES/704010344/1023</ref> Another Ewing relative, [[Edmund Graves Brown]] was a ''News Star'' executive who served as the assistant general manager until Gannett, an Arlington, [[Virginia]], firm, purchased the combined ''News-Star-World.''<ref>[http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/dclassifieds?Dato=20080513&Kategori=OBITUARY&Class=30&Type=CAT30200&Lopenr=805000157&Selected=2 thenewsstar.com | Monroe OBITUARY | The News Star<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1980, “World” was dropped from the name, which became ''The News Star,'' without a hyphen.
''The '''News Star'' usually endorses conservative candidates. In 2004, it supported successful [[Republican Party|Republicans]] [[Rodney Alexander]] for the [[United States House of Representatives]] and [[David Vitter]] for the [[United States Senate]].<ref>[http://www.vitter2004.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=52 David Vitter | U.S. Senate<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 2007, the paper endorsed [[Royal Alexander]], a former Rodney Alexander staff member (no relation), who unsuccessfully carried the [[Republican Party|GOP]] banner for Louisiana [[attorney general]] in the 2007 elections. Royal Alexander of Shreveport was handily defeated by [[Buddy Caldwell]] of Tallulah, after [[incumbent]] [[Charles Foti]] of [[New Orleans]] was eliminated in the first round of balloting.<ref>[http://dhimmithis.typepad.com/dhimmi_this/2007/10/monroe-news-sta.html Dhimmi This!: Monroe News Star Endorses Royal Alexander<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Notable staff members==
*'''Charles E. Bever,''' former managing editor and later Gannett executive, now in[[Richmond]], [[Virginia]]
*[[Craig Durrett]] (1955-2015), ''News Star'' city editor, 1983-1987; long career with ''The Shreveport Times''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2015/05/11/craig-durrett-veteran-journalist-dies/27150069/|title=Craig Durrett, veteran journalist, dies|publisher='The Shreveport Times''|author=John Andrew Prime|date=May 11, 2015|accessdate=May 15, 2015}}</ref>
*[[Sam Hanna|Sam Hanna, Sr.]] (1933–2006), former political editor; later publisher of ''The Ouachita Citizen'' in West Monroe, ''Franklin Sun'' in Winnsboro]], and ''The Concordia Sentinel'' in Ferriday,
*[[Bert Hatten]], former managing editor of ''The Morning World''; later publisher of '''The Ouachita Citizen''; mayor of West Monroe from 1966 to 1978<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theind.com/LaLaLand/hanna-shares-family-memories-of-jfk-2360/|author=Sam Hanna, Jr.|title=One fateful day in Dallas|date=November 20, 2013|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 22, 2014}}</ref>
*'''[[Greg Hilburn]]''' ''News Star'' political reporter; son of Wiley Hilburn
*[[Wiley Hilburn]] (1938-2014), former staffer and retired long-term head of the Journalism Department at [[Louisiana Tech University]] in Ruston
*[[Bob Mann|Robert Townley "Bob" Mann, Jr.]] reporter in early 1980s; holds the Douglas Manship Chair of Journalism at [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]], author of political history<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bobmannblog.com/about/|title=About Bob Mann|publisher=bobmannblog.com|accessdate=October 18, 2013}}</ref>
*'''Kathy Spurlock,''' general manager and executive editor who began career at ''The News Star'' as cub reporter<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/OBITUARIES01/805130324/1046/js0|title=Former News-Star executive Edmund Brown dies|publisher=''The Shreveport Times'']date=May 13, 2008.</ref>
* [[Dale Thorn]] (1943-2014), journalist at ''The Monroe Morning World'' in late 1960s, former LSU [[professor]], and press secretary to [[Governor]] [[Edwin Edwards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/news/obituaries/article_b22754d4-db73-11e3-ac47-001a4bcf6878.html|title=Obituary - Dr. Jesse Dale Thorn|date=May 14, 2014|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.thenewsstar.com/ Official website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monroe News Star}}
[[Category:Newspapers]]
[[Category:Louisiana]]
==History==
''The News Star'' began in 1890 as the ''Monroe Evening News.'' [[John Travis Nixon]], a native of [[Illinois]], and a partner, Julius Cheney, became the publishers in 1893, but Nixon soon left for Crowley in Acadia Parish, where he began what is now the ''Crowley Post Signal.''<ref>Dictionary of Louisiana Biography - N - Louisiana Historical Association (lahistory.org), accessed April 17, 2021.</ref>
In 1909, coincidentally the year that John Travis Nixon died at the age of forty-one, ''The Evening News'' merged with ''The Daily Star'' to form the afternoon newspaper, ''The Monroe News-Star.''<ref name=nstar>[http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/CUSTOMERSERVICE02/41202001 About Us | thenewsstar.com | The News Star<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1908, [[Robert Wilson Ewing, I]] (1859–1931), while still the [[publisher]] of the since defunct ''New Orleans Daily States,'' purchased ''The Shreveport Times''. In 1929, Ewing bought the since defunct ''Monroe Morning World''. In 1930, he acquired the ''News-Star'', since switched from an afternoon to a morning publication. Ewing was accordingly among the two or three most influential persons in the Louisiana [[journalism]] community.<ref name=dict>Dictionary of Louisiana Biography - E - Louisiana Historical Association (lahistory.org), accessed april 17, 2021.</ref>ref>
The two Monroe newspapers remained in the Ewing family until the Gannett acquisition on June 16, 1977. The ''Morning World'' and ''The News-Star'' consolidated on August 4, 1980, to become ''The News-Star-World.'' The name was later changed and the first edition of ''The News Star,'' since a morning paper,'' was printed on May 22, 1988.<ref name=nstar/>
John Dunbrack Ewing (1892–1952), one of the five sons of Robert Ewing, was editor and [[publisher]] of ''The Shreveport Times'' and the ''Monroe News-Star-World'' from 1931 until his death. John Ewing moved to [[Shreveport]] in 1915 to become the associate publisher of ''The Shreveport Times'.'' When his father died, Ewing became the publisher of the ''Shreveport Times'' and both Monroe papers. All three newspapers were known for their [[conservative]] editorials.<ref name=dict</ref>
[[Robert Ewing, III]], a nephew of John Ewing, was a nature [[photographer]] and served as a ''News Star'' board member.<ref>http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/OBITUARIES/704010344/1023</ref> Another Ewing relative, [[Edmund Graves Brown]] was a ''News Star'' executive who served as the assistant general manager until Gannett, an Arlington, [[Virginia]], firm, purchased the combined ''News-Star-World.''<ref>[http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/dclassifieds?Dato=20080513&Kategori=OBITUARY&Class=30&Type=CAT30200&Lopenr=805000157&Selected=2 thenewsstar.com | Monroe OBITUARY | The News Star<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1980, “World” was dropped from the name, which became ''The News Star,'' without a hyphen.
''The '''News Star'' usually endorses conservative candidates. In 2004, it supported successful [[Republican Party|Republicans]] [[Rodney Alexander]] for the [[United States House of Representatives]] and [[David Vitter]] for the [[United States Senate]].<ref>[http://www.vitter2004.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=52 David Vitter | U.S. Senate<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 2007, the paper endorsed [[Royal Alexander]], a former Rodney Alexander staff member (no relation), who unsuccessfully carried the [[Republican Party|GOP]] banner for Louisiana [[attorney general]] in the 2007 elections. Royal Alexander of Shreveport was handily defeated by [[Buddy Caldwell]] of Tallulah, after [[incumbent]] [[Charles Foti]] of [[New Orleans]] was eliminated in the first round of balloting.<ref>[http://dhimmithis.typepad.com/dhimmi_this/2007/10/monroe-news-sta.html Dhimmi This!: Monroe News Star Endorses Royal Alexander<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Notable staff members==
*'''Charles E. Bever,''' former managing editor and later Gannett executive, now in[[Richmond]], [[Virginia]]
*[[Craig Durrett]] (1955-2015), ''News Star'' city editor, 1983-1987; long career with ''The Shreveport Times''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2015/05/11/craig-durrett-veteran-journalist-dies/27150069/|title=Craig Durrett, veteran journalist, dies|publisher='The Shreveport Times''|author=John Andrew Prime|date=May 11, 2015|accessdate=May 15, 2015}}</ref>
*[[Sam Hanna|Sam Hanna, Sr.]] (1933–2006), former political editor; later publisher of ''The Ouachita Citizen'' in West Monroe, ''Franklin Sun'' in Winnsboro]], and ''The Concordia Sentinel'' in Ferriday,
*[[Bert Hatten]], former managing editor of ''The Morning World''; later publisher of '''The Ouachita Citizen''; mayor of West Monroe from 1966 to 1978<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theind.com/LaLaLand/hanna-shares-family-memories-of-jfk-2360/|author=Sam Hanna, Jr.|title=One fateful day in Dallas|date=November 20, 2013|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 22, 2014}}</ref>
*'''[[Greg Hilburn]]''' ''News Star'' political reporter; son of Wiley Hilburn
*[[Wiley Hilburn]] (1938-2014), former staffer and retired long-term head of the Journalism Department at [[Louisiana Tech University]] in Ruston
*[[Bob Mann|Robert Townley "Bob" Mann, Jr.]] reporter in early 1980s; holds the Douglas Manship Chair of Journalism at [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]], author of political history<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bobmannblog.com/about/|title=About Bob Mann|publisher=bobmannblog.com|accessdate=October 18, 2013}}</ref>
*'''Kathy Spurlock,''' general manager and executive editor who began career at ''The News Star'' as cub reporter<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/OBITUARIES01/805130324/1046/js0|title=Former News-Star executive Edmund Brown dies|publisher=''The Shreveport Times'']date=May 13, 2008.</ref>
* [[Dale Thorn]] (1943-2014), journalist at ''The Monroe Morning World'' in late 1960s, former LSU [[professor]], and press secretary to [[Governor]] [[Edwin Edwards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/news/obituaries/article_b22754d4-db73-11e3-ac47-001a4bcf6878.html|title=Obituary - Dr. Jesse Dale Thorn|date=May 14, 2014|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.thenewsstar.com/ Official website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monroe News Star}}
[[Category:Newspapers]]
[[Category:Louisiana]]