Quad-City Times
 The July 27, 2005 front page of the Quad-City Times | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Lee Enterprises |
| Publisher | TBD |
| Editor | TBD |
| Founded | 1855 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 500 E. Third St. Davenport, IA 52801 United States |
| Circulation | 53,942 Daily 70,051 Sunday[1] |
| Website | qctimes.com |
The Quad-City Times is a daily morning newspaper based in Davenport, Iowa, and circulated throughout the Quad Cities metropolitan area (Davenport, Bettendorf and Scott County in Iowa; and Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Rock Island County in Illinois).
As it is a regional newspaper, the Quad-City Times is also circulated and has readership in Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Louisa and Muscatine counties in Iowa; and Carroll, Henry, Mercer and Whiteside counties in Illinois.
According to the Iowa Newspaper Association, the Quad-City Times has a circulation of 61,366.[2] The newspaper is owned by Lee Enterprises, which is also located in Davenport.
History
The Quad-City Times grew from several predecessors, including the Democratic Banner and Blue Ribbon News.
The Democratic Banner was founded in 1848, was sold in 1855 to a group of businessmen and rechristened the Iowa State Democrat. The Iowa State Democrat published its first edition on October 15 of that year, with E.T. Eagel its first publisher. The newspaper underwent many changes through its early history, and by 1899, its circulation was 1,300 daily and 2,500 weekly. By 1903, it was known as the Davenport Democrat, and in 1905, after purchasing it's rival newspaper, "The Davenport Leader," the name became "The Davenport Democrat & Leader," under the city editorship of Ralph W. Cram. The newspaper was sold to Lee Enterprises in 1915; thereafter Cram become editor and publisher, until 1940.
The Blue Ribbon News began publication in 1878; by 1886, it was known as the Davenport Daily Times. The newspaper, which struggled for many years, was sold in 1899 to A.W. Lee (founder of Lee Enterprises) for $120,000.
Both newspapers continued to grow in circulation, before combining operations in 1964. The formerly separate newspapers became known as the Times-Democrat. By 1974, with circulation expanding throughout eastern Iowa and western Illinois, the newspaper was given its current name.
In December 1989, the Quad-City Times moved into its current building at 500 E. Third St., Davenport. The facility, completed at a cost of $23.8 million, includes a five-story press room, mail room, warehouse and editorial offices. The facility also houses Trico, the newspaper's commercial printing business.
The Quad-City Times has been on the leading edge of technology, becoming the first all-electronic newspaper in 1973. Electronic pagination began in 1988, with all-digital photography taking root by 1994.
Current Quad-City Times columnists include Don Doxsie, Alma Gaul, Barb Ickes, Steve Martens, Kay Luna, John Willard and Bill Wundram. The current editor is Jan Touney. Greg Veon is the publisher of the Quad-City Times.
Other editions
The newspaper receives Iowa political news from Lee Enterprises' Des Moines bureau, and Illinois political news from its Springfield bureau.
Previously, the Quad-City Times published additional editions, which have since been discontinued:
- An "Afternoon Edition" that circulated for many decades only in Davenport and Bettendorf.
- An "Illinois Edition" that circulated in the Illinois Quad Cities, and throughout Rock Island, Henry and Mercer counties
- A bureau in Clinton that compiled news for a "Gateway Edition." This edition went to Clinton and Jackson counties in Iowa, and Carroll and Whiteside counties in Illinois during the week. All separate editions have since been discontinued.
The "Quad-City Times" is available on the Amazon Kindle book reader; however without ads, classifieds and most photos and tables.
The Bettendorf News
On Thursdays, the Bettendorf News is published, and the tabloid-sized included in newsstand and subscriber copies in Bettendorf, Le Claire, Pleasant Valley and Riverdale. From 1927 through sometime in the 2000s decade, the Bettendorf News was a stand-alone weekly newspaper. Since 1975, the newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises, and during the 2000s decade, the newspaper became a weekly section comprising features, sports recaps and community news. In the past, special weekly sections were also published for the Clinton, and both the upper and lower Rock Island County markets, but these have since been discontinued.
Other publications
In addition to its other editions, the Quad-City Times also publishes:
- Quad-City Business Journal, a monthly business magazine with stories about Quad-City area businesses.
- On the River, a journal dedicated to life on the Mississippi River.
Sources
- "Scott County Heritage," Scott County Heritage Book Committee, Taylor Publishing, Dallas, 1991.
- "Quad-City Times: Doing Business Then and Now," Quad-City Times 150th anniversary section, Sept. 11, 2005. Includes a timeline detailing the newspaper's history on pages U22-27.