Omaha World-Herald
Encyclopedia
The Omaha World-Herald, based in Omaha
, Nebraska
, is the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska, as well as portions of southwest Iowa
. For decades it circulated daily throughout Nebraska, and in parts of Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. In 2008, distribution was reduced to the eastern third of Nebraska and western Iowa.
The World-Herald was the largest employee-owned newspaper in the United States. On November 30, 2011, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced plans to buy the newspaper.
It is the only remaining major metropolitan newspaper in the United States to publish both morning and afternoon editions. The newspaper publishes four daily editions, with three morning editions (regional; Lincoln, Neb.; and metropolitan) and one afternoon edition (metropolitan). Its market area spans two time zones and is more than 500 miles across.
The World-Herald had for many years been the newspaper with the highest penetration rate – the percentage of people who subscribe to the publication within the paper's home circulation area – in the United States.
The Omaha World-Herald Company also operates the website Omaha.com, the region's most popular website by all measures of traffic. The site has more than 300,000 registered users and more than 14 million page views monthly. Its website and newspaper combined reach 85.3 percent of the Omaha market, the second-highest percentage of people within a home circulation area compared with other major metropolitan newspapers in the United States.
The company dubs its downtown Omaha headquarters the Freedom Center. The John Gottschalk Freedom Center also houses its three printing presses, which can each print 75,000 papers per hour, and are considered to be some of the most advanced in the world. In 2006, the company purchased the 16-story former Northwestern Bell
/Qwest Communications building in downtown Omaha
as a new base for its news, editorial, circulation and business operations.
The newspaper has bureaus in Lincoln, Neb., and Washington, D.C. Throughout the region, The World-Herald also owns smaller daily and weekly newspapers, which contribute to its World-Herald News Service.
Through the World Publishing Co., the former name of the newspaper's parent company, The World-Herald owned Omaha television station KETV
from its founding in 1957. (The station was dubbed "Omaha World-Herald" television.) Because of a change in Federal Communications Commission
law, The World-Herald had to divest the station in 1976. It sold the station to the now-defunct Pulitzer Broadcasting Co., of St. Louis.
s, including the esteemed Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
, awarded in 1943.
's Omaha Herald in 1889. The paper was established as an independent political voice but quickly moved to the Democratic Party
column. William Jennings Bryan
was its editor in 1894-96. Hitchcock served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and, starting in 1911, two Senate terms. It was a more objective voice than the Omaha Bee
, which tended to sensationalize news to drum up sales.
His son-in-law, Henry Doorly
, took control of the paper after Hitchcock's death in 1934. The editorial page began leaning Republican
after Hitchcock's death. Over his lifetime, Doorly served 58 years at the paper.
In 1963, the World Publishing Company, owned solely by heirs of the Hitchcock/Doorly families, sold The World-Herald to local businessman Peter Kiewit, a construction magnate whose namesake company is a member of the Fortune 500
. When he died, Kiewit left provisions to ensure that the paper would remain locally owned, with a large part of the plan securing employee ownership.
On November 30, 2011, the Omaha World-Herald announced that Berkshire Hathaway
will buy the newspaper pending a vote by its shareholders which is made up of active employees, retired employees and the Peter Kiewit Foundation.
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, is the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska, as well as portions of southwest Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. For decades it circulated daily throughout Nebraska, and in parts of Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. In 2008, distribution was reduced to the eastern third of Nebraska and western Iowa.
The World-Herald was the largest employee-owned newspaper in the United States. On November 30, 2011, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced plans to buy the newspaper.
It is the only remaining major metropolitan newspaper in the United States to publish both morning and afternoon editions. The newspaper publishes four daily editions, with three morning editions (regional; Lincoln, Neb.; and metropolitan) and one afternoon edition (metropolitan). Its market area spans two time zones and is more than 500 miles across.
The World-Herald had for many years been the newspaper with the highest penetration rate – the percentage of people who subscribe to the publication within the paper's home circulation area – in the United States.
The Omaha World-Herald Company also operates the website Omaha.com, the region's most popular website by all measures of traffic. The site has more than 300,000 registered users and more than 14 million page views monthly. Its website and newspaper combined reach 85.3 percent of the Omaha market, the second-highest percentage of people within a home circulation area compared with other major metropolitan newspapers in the United States.
The company dubs its downtown Omaha headquarters the Freedom Center. The John Gottschalk Freedom Center also houses its three printing presses, which can each print 75,000 papers per hour, and are considered to be some of the most advanced in the world. In 2006, the company purchased the 16-story former Northwestern Bell
Northwestern Bell
Northwestern Bell Telephone Company served the states just north of the Southwestern Bell area, including: Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska.- Early beginnings :Northwestern Bell's earliest roots begin in Deadwood, South Dakota...
/Qwest Communications building in downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and is located in Omaha, Nebraska. The boundaries are 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline of Leavenworth Street on the south to the centerline...
as a new base for its news, editorial, circulation and business operations.
The newspaper has bureaus in Lincoln, Neb., and Washington, D.C. Throughout the region, The World-Herald also owns smaller daily and weekly newspapers, which contribute to its World-Herald News Service.
Through the World Publishing Co., the former name of the newspaper's parent company, The World-Herald owned Omaha television station KETV
KETV
KETV, digital channel 20 , is the ABC affiliate television station in Omaha, Nebraska and is owned by Hearst Television...
from its founding in 1957. (The station was dubbed "Omaha World-Herald" television.) Because of a change in Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
law, The World-Herald had to divest the station in 1976. It sold the station to the now-defunct Pulitzer Broadcasting Co., of St. Louis.
Pulitzer Prizes
The World-Herald has won three Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
s, including the esteemed Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service has been awarded since 1918 for a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalistic resources. Those resources, as well as reporting, may include editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics,...
, awarded in 1943.
- 1944 Pulitzer Prize for PhotographyPulitzer Prize for PhotographyThe Pulitzer Prize for Photography was one of the Pulitzer Prizes. It was awarded from 1942 until 1967. In 1968, it was split into two separate prizes: the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography and the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography .* 1942: Milton Brooks of Detroit News, for his photo...
- Earle L. Bunker for his photo entitled, "Homecoming." - 1943 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service - For its initiative and originality in planning a state-wide campaign for the collection of scrap metal for the war effort. The Nebraska plan was adopted on a national scale by the daily newspapers, resulting in a united effort which succeeded in supplying our war industries with necessary scrap material.
- 1920 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial WritingPulitzer Prize for Editorial WritingThe Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, moral purpose, sound reasoning, and power to influence public opinion in what the writer conceives to be the right direction...
- Harvey E. Newbranch for an editorial entitled "Law and the Jungle," which decried the lynching of a black man on the lawn of the Douglas County CourthouseDouglas County Courthouse (Omaha)The present Douglas County Courthouse is located at 1701 Farnam Street in Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1912, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Notable events at the courthouse include two lynchings and the city's first Civil Rights Era sit-in protest...
. Newbranch was the first editorial writer to win a Pulitzer under his own name -- as opposed to awards for unsigned staff editorials -- in opinion writing.
History
The newspaper was founded in 1885 by Gilbert M. Hitchcock as the Omaha Evening World. It absorbed George L. MillerGeorge L. Miller
Dr. George Lorin Miller was a pioneer physician, editor, politician, civic leader and land owner in Omaha, Nebraska. The founder of the Omaha Herald, which later became part of the Omaha World-Herald, Miller arrived in Omaha in 1854, the year the city was founded...
's Omaha Herald in 1889. The paper was established as an independent political voice but quickly moved to the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
column. William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
was its editor in 1894-96. Hitchcock served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and, starting in 1911, two Senate terms. It was a more objective voice than the Omaha Bee
Omaha Bee
The Omaha Bee was a pioneer newspaper in Omaha, Nebraska founded on May 8, 1871, by Edward Rosewater, a Bohemian Jewish immigrant who supported abolition and fought in the Union Army. The Bee was regarded as a Republican newspaper, and early on featured Rosewater's opinions...
, which tended to sensationalize news to drum up sales.
His son-in-law, Henry Doorly
Henry Doorly
Henry Doorly , a native of Barbados, moved to Omaha while working as an engineer and then moved into the newspaper business. He became the chairman of the World Publishing Company and publisher of the Omaha World-Herald in Omaha, Nebraska. Doorly worked for the company for 58 years, becoming a...
, took control of the paper after Hitchcock's death in 1934. The editorial page began leaning Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
after Hitchcock's death. Over his lifetime, Doorly served 58 years at the paper.
In 1963, the World Publishing Company, owned solely by heirs of the Hitchcock/Doorly families, sold The World-Herald to local businessman Peter Kiewit, a construction magnate whose namesake company is a member of the Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
. When he died, Kiewit left provisions to ensure that the paper would remain locally owned, with a large part of the plan securing employee ownership.
On November 30, 2011, the Omaha World-Herald announced that Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...
will buy the newspaper pending a vote by its shareholders which is made up of active employees, retired employees and the Peter Kiewit Foundation.
Notable staff
- Gilbert M. Hitchcock - Founder, editor(Omaha World)
- George L. MillerGeorge L. MillerDr. George Lorin Miller was a pioneer physician, editor, politician, civic leader and land owner in Omaha, Nebraska. The founder of the Omaha Herald, which later became part of the Omaha World-Herald, Miller arrived in Omaha in 1854, the year the city was founded...
- Founder,(Omaha Herald) - Thomas TibblesThomas TibblesThomas Henry Tibbles was a journalist and author from Omaha, Nebraska who became an activist for Native American rights in the United States during the late nineteenth century.- Life :Born in Ohio, he moved to Illinois with his parents...
- Assistant editor (Omaha Herald) - Elia Peattie - Chief editorial writer, 1889-?
- William Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
- Editor, 1894-1896 - Henry DoorlyHenry DoorlyHenry Doorly , a native of Barbados, moved to Omaha while working as an engineer and then moved into the newspaper business. He became the chairman of the World Publishing Company and publisher of the Omaha World-Herald in Omaha, Nebraska. Doorly worked for the company for 58 years, becoming a...
- Editor, publisher, 1934-1963 - Peter Kiewit - Owner, 1963-1979
- Harvey E. Newbranch - Writer, winner of 1920 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing at the paper
- Paul HendersonPaul Henderson (journalist)Paul Henderson III is an American journalist and private investigator who won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in 1982 as a reporter for The Seattle Times....
- Writer - John GottschalkJohn GottschalkJohn E. Gottschalk is the retired chief executive officer and publisher of the Omaha World-Herald and was the national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 2008 to 2010. He and his wife, Carmen, are known for their philanthropy.-Early life:...
- Former publisher and CEOChief executive officerA chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
; current World-Herald Co. chairman; head of Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of AmericaThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
; philanthropist - Terry Kroeger - Current publisher and CEO
- Jeff KoterbaJeff KoterbaJeffrey Koterba is an American editorial cartoonist based in Omaha, Nebraska. He has been Omaha World Herald's cartoonist since 1989 and his work is syndicated nationwide to over 400 newspapers by King Features Syndicate.-Biography:...
- Editorial cartoonistEditorial cartoonistAn editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary....
since 1989