The Free Lance–Star
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 Front page, April 14, 2008 |
|
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Free Lance–Star Publishing Company |
| Publisher | Josiah P. Rowe III [1] Associate Publishers Florence C. Barnick Nicholas J. Cadwallender |
| Editor | Edward W. Jones [1] |
| Founded | Jan. 27, 1885 |
| Headquarters | Fredericksburg, Virginia |
| Circulation | 46,672 Monday–Friday 48,148 Saturday 50,480 Sunday[2] |
| Official website | http://www.fredericksburg.com |
The Free Lance–Star is the principal daily newspaper distributed throughout Fredericksburg, Virginia, with a circulation area including the city of Fredericksburg and all or parts of the counties of Spotsylvania, Stafford, King George, Caroline, Culpeper, Fauquier, Louisa, Orange, Prince William and Westmoreland.
The Free Lance was first published on January 27, 1885, when a group of local merchants created the paper to serve the news and advertising needs of the community. A one-year subscription that very first year cost $1.50. In 1900, the Free Lance merged with its competing The Fredericksburg Daily Star. The two papers continued to be published separately until 1926 when, under the leadership of Josiah P. Rowe Jr., they were combined into The Free Lance–Star, a single newspaper published 6 days a week.
WFLS, the company’s first radio station housed at the same location, went on the air in 1960. WYSK was added to the company in 1964. The company purchased WWUZ, a classic rock-formatted station out of Bowling Green, in 2001, and expanded further into publishing telephone directories with its Star Directory distributed to 140,000 homes. Accordingly, The Free Lance–Star Publishing Co. has grown to 500 employees.
In the mid-1990s the company maintained a web presence under FLStarWeb.com. Those efforts have since shifted to fredericksburg.com. In 1984, The Free Lance–Star was named by Time magazine as one of two top small daily newspapers in the country.[3]
The paper has occupied two addresses in its history. It was founded in 1885 as a twice-weekly publication by Col. John W. Woltz and William E. Bradley from their offices at 303 William St in Fredericksburg. In 1965 the newspaper, owned and operated by members of the same family since 1926 moved to its current location at 616 Amelia Street.[4] Charles and Josiah Rowe inherited the paper from their father in 1949, and in 1997, upon Charles’ retirement, the family of Josiah P. Rowe III purchased total ownership of the business.[5]
[edit] It! and Myline
The student produced sections called it! and Myline, published every Tuesday and Thursday, give local students the opportunity to write on popular topics. "Myline" is featured on the back of Tuesday's "Family Section" and "it!" is found inside Thursday's "Weekender" section. "Myline" is designed in a broadsheet format, while "it!" is designed as a six page tabloid.[6]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "Names". fredericksburg.com (The Free Lance-Star). http://stylebook.fredericksburg.com/namefram.htm.
- ^ "US Newspaper Search Results". Audit Bureau of Circulations website. March 31, 2008. http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/newsform.asp. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ^ "Big Fish in Small Ponds". Time. April 30, 1984. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951066-2,00.html.. See: "family legacies: Virginia's Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star"
- ^ Kelly, James. "Telling a Town About Itself". Time. June 16, 1986.
- ^ "The Free Lance–Star Publishing Co., Story". The Free Lance–Star (The Free Lance–Star Publishing Company). http://www.freelancestar.com/about.php.
- ^ Keith, Sarah."A brief history of MyLine". The Free Lance–Star. October 16, 2007.
