Buffalo Courier-Express
The Buffalo Courier-Express was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 19, 1982.
 The front page of the Buffalo Courier-Express from November 24, 1963 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | George E. Matthews William James Conners Cowles Media Company |
| Launched | 1926 |
| Ceased publication | September 19, 1982 |
| Headquarters | Buffalo, New York |
History
The Courier-Express was created in 1926 by a merger of the Buffalo Daily Courier and the Buffalo Morning Express. William James Conners, the owner of the Buffalo Courier, brought the two papers together. The combined newspapers claimed a heritage dating to 1828. One notable part-owner and editor of the Buffalo Express was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, whose tenure at the newspaper lasted from 1869 to 1871.
In August 1979, The Courier-Express was purchased by the Cowles Media Company, a publishing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After a change in corporate leadership, Cowles Media decided to close the paper in September 1982. After the local Newspaper Guild members voted to oppose a deal to sell the Courier Express to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation,[1] the September 19, 1982 issue was the last issue published.[2] That left Buffalo with only one daily newspaper, the Buffalo Evening News, now known as The Buffalo News.
Cowles Media donated the library to the Buffalo History Museum and Buffalo State College. The library is now housed in the E. H. Butler Library[3] at Buffalo State College. The library consists of approximately one million news clippings, 100,000 photographs[4] and several pieces of artworks and framed photographs. The news clippings and photographs, arranged by subject and person, cover the late 1950s to September 19, 1982. The collection served as the library for the reporters of the paper. The librarians weeded both the clippings and photographic files, discarding older files on a routine basis. As a result, many subject areas are not covered.
The library is currently being digitized. While that may take years, photographs will continually be added to the Butler Library Archives Flickr site.[5]
Editors
Editors of the Buffalo Courier
- Douglas A. Levien, 1850s[6]
- David Gray, 1870s
Editors of the Buffalo Express
- Almon M. Clapp, editor, founded Express in 1846[7]
- Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as 'Mark Twain,' 1869–1871, co-editor
- Josephus Nelson Larned, co-editor with Twain
- James N. Matthews 1878-1888[8]
- George E. Matthews 1888-1911[8]
- Burrows Matthews 1911-1925
Editors of the Buffalo Courier-Express
- Burrows Matthews 1926–1955
- Cy B.King 1956–1970
- Douglas L.Turner 1971–1980
- Joel R. Kramer 1981–1982
- Theo C. Meier 1950s
General Managers of the Buffalo Courier-Express
- Gordon Bennett 1960s
- Richard C. Lyons 1971–74
- Donald J. Maul 1970s
Notable alumni
- Tom Toles
- Wilbur Porterfield—Photo Pictorialist 1926-1958
See also
References
- Wexler, Celia Viggo (July 20, 2011). "The Newspaper that Said "No" to Murdoch". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- "Buffalo Morning Paper To Fold". Reading Eagle. September 8, 1982. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
- Fujiuchi, Ken. "E. H. Butler Library: E. H. Butler Library: Home". library.buffalostate.edu.
- "The Courier-Express Photograph Collection". Retrieved October 6, 2018.
- "Flickr.com".
- "Death of Douglas A. Levien," New York Times, April 28, 1897.
- (6 April 1899). Mr. A.M. Clapp Stricken, Evening Star
- Matthews, George E. (1898). The men of New York: a collection of biographies and portraits of citizens of the Empire state prominent in business, professional, social, and political life during the last decade of the nineteenth century. Cattaraugus County (N.Y.): G.E. Matthews & Co. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
External links
