Changes

''The Town Talk'' was born on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1883.<ref name=gan>{{cite web|title=The Town Talk|url=http://www.gannett.com/about/map/ataglance/alexandria.htm|accessdate=May 19,2008; no longer on-line}}</ref> It was owned by the original [[Ireland|Irish]]-[[United States|American]] founders, including Edgar Hammond McCormick and Henarie Morrison Huie, and their heirs until 1996, when it was sold to Central Newspapers of [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]], then the 15th-largest newspaper company in the [[United States]]. The parent company was called “McCormick & Company, Inc.” Central Newspapers was purchased in 2000 by Gannett of McLean, [[Virginia]],<ref>[http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/star/history/2000/star_sold.html Star sold to Gannett<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> was owned until his death by Eugene S. Pulliam, the maternal uncle of former [[Vice President of the United States]] [[Dan Quayle|J. Danforth Quayle]].

''The Town Talk'' was born on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1883.<ref name=gan>{{cite web|title=The Town Talk|url=http://www.gannett.com/about/map/ataglance/alexandria.htm|accessdate=May 19,2008; no longer on-line}}</ref> It was owned by the original [[Ireland|Irish]]-[[United States|American]] founders, including Edgar Hammond McCormick and Henarie Morrison Huie, and their heirs until 1996, when it was sold to Central Newspapers of [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]], then the 15th-largest newspaper company in the [[United States]]. The parent company was called “McCormick & Company, Inc.” Central Newspapers was purchased in 2000 by Gannett of McLean, [[Virginia]],<ref>[http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/star/history/2000/star_sold.html Star sold to Gannett<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> was owned until his death by Eugene S. Pulliam, the maternal uncle of former [[Vice President of the United States]] [[Dan Quayle|J. Danforth Quayle]].

In 1962, [[Joe D. Smith, Jr.]],  became [[publisher]] of ''The Town Talk.'' He was the husband of Jane Wilson Smith (1922–1992), a McCormick heir whose family owned the newspaper. Over the years, Smith was also the general manager, president, and chairman of the board. Under his tutelage, ''The Town Talk'' became the first daily newspaper in Louisiana to become [[computer]]ized. He took the view that newspapers were expected to foster growth and improvement in the community as well as report the news.<ref>http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080323/OPINION/803220327</ref> Some four years after the death of Jane Smith, Smith sold to Central Newspapers for $62 million.

In 1962, [[Joe D. Smith, Jr.]],  became [[publisher]] of ''The Town Talk.'' He was the husband of Jane Wilson Smith (1922–1992), a McCormick heir whose family owned the newspaper. Over the years, Smith was also the general manager, president, and chairman of the board. Under his tutelage, ''The Town Talk'' became the first daily newspaper in Louisiana to become [[computer]]ized. He took the view that newspapers were expected to foster growth and improvement in the community as well as report the news.<ref>[http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080323/OPINION/803220327]</ref> Some four years after the death of Jane Smith, Smith sold to Central Newspapers for $62 million.

On the acquisition of ''The Town Talk,'' Louis A. Weil III, Central Newspapers' chief executive officer, said that under Smith’s leadership, “the newspaper has become one of the premier medium-sized dailies in the South. It fits with our goal ,f acquiring newspaper properties with a strong position in their market area and a proven history of journalistic integrity."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1996_Jan_10/ai_17999674 | work=Business Wire | title=Central Newspapers to acquire Alexandria Daily Town Talk | date=January 10, 1996}}</ref> Weil's analysis was in sharp contrast to that of [[Adras LaBorde]], who in 1945 launched a 32-year career with the newspaper. At the time, LaBorde described ''The Town Talk'' as "an overgrown country weekly published on a six-day basis." The publication had indeed changed little in the years between 1925 and 1945.<ref>[[Adras LaBorde]], quoted in Fredrick M. Spletstoser, ''Talk of the Town: The Rise of Alexandria, Louisiana, and the Daily Town Talk'', [[Louisiana State University]] Press, 2005, p. 130.</ref>

On the acquisition of ''The Town Talk,'' Louis A. Weil III, Central Newspapers' chief executive officer, said that under Smith’s leadership, “the newspaper has become one of the premier medium-sized dailies in the South. It fits with our goal ,f acquiring newspaper properties with a strong position in their market area and a proven history of journalistic integrity."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1996_Jan_10/ai_17999674 | work=Business Wire | title=Central Newspapers to acquire Alexandria Daily Town Talk | date=January 10, 1996}}</ref> Weil's analysis was in sharp contrast to that of [[Adras LaBorde]], who in 1945 launched a 32-year career with the newspaper. At the time, LaBorde described ''The Town Talk'' as "an overgrown country weekly published on a six-day basis." The publication had indeed changed little in the years between 1925 and 1945.<ref>[[Adras LaBorde]], quoted in Fredrick M. Spletstoser, ''Talk of the Town: The Rise of Alexandria, Louisiana, and the Daily Town Talk'', [[Louisiana State University]] Press, 2005, p. 130.</ref>