{{short description|Newspaper in Wichita, Kansas, U.S.}} {{essay|date=September 2023}} {{Use American English|date = August 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date = August 2019}} {{Infobox newspaper | name = ''The Wichita Eagle'' | logo = The Wichita Eagle logo.svg | image = 200px|border | caption = The December 20, 2016 front page<br/>of ''The Wichita Eagle'' | type = Daily newspaper | format = Broadsheet | founded = 1872 | owners = The McClatchy Company | headquarters = 301 N. Main St.<br/>Wichita, Kansas 67202<br/>United States | editor = Michael Roehrman | circulation = 31,022 Daily <br /> 65,819 Sunday | circulation_date = 2020 | circulation_ref = <ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-19 |title=McClatchy {{!}} Markets |url=https://www.mcclatchy.com/our-impact/markets/the-wichita-eagle/ |access-date=2023-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219122959/https://www.mcclatchy.com/our-impact/markets/the-wichita-eagle/ |archive-date=February 19, 2022 }}</ref> | ISSN = 1046-3127 | oclc = 20386511 | website = {{URL|http://www.kansas.com|kansas.com}} }}
'''''The Wichita Eagle''''' is a newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Originating in the early 1870s, shortly after the city's founding, it is owned by The McClatchy Company and is the largest newspaper in Wichita and the surrounding area.<ref>[http://www.kansas.com The Wichita Eagle website.]</ref>
In September, 1960, '''''The Wichita Eagle''''' purchased the assets of its longtime chief rival, the '''''Wichita Beacon,''''' it became '''''The Wichita Eagle and Beacon''''' or '''''The Wichita Eagle-Beacon''''', until the Beacon moniker was dropped in 1989.
==History==
===Origins=== In 1870, ''The Vidette'' was the first newspaper established in Wichita by Fred A. Sowers and W. B. Hutchinson.<ref>[http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/collections/local_history/tihen/pdf/People&Places/wichita_vidette.pdf Wichita State University Libraries]</ref> It operated briefly.<ref name="Book-1914-WIH">[https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00daug ''Wichita : Illustrated History 1868 to 1880''; Eunice S. Chapter; 52 pages; 1914.]</ref><ref name="Paper-2016-EagleHistory">[http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article80656417.html History of The Wichita Eagle; The Wichita Eagle; May 29, 2016.]</ref>
On April 12, 1872, ''The Wichita Eagle'' was founded and edited by Marshall M. Murdock,<ref>[https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article140839068.html ''The Wichita Eagle'']</ref><ref>[https://kspress.com/156/murdock-marshall-m Marshall M. Murdock; Kansas Press Association.]</ref> and it became a daily paper in May 1884.<ref name="Book-1914-WIH"/> His son, Victor Murdock, was a reporter for the paper during his teens, the managing editor from 1894 to 1903, an editor from the mid-1920s until his death in 1945.<ref>[https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/victor-murdock/16962 Kansas Historical Society]</ref>
In October 1872, ''The Wichita Daily Beacon'' was founded by Fred A. Sowers and David Millison.<ref name="Book-1914-WIH"/><ref name="Paper-2016-EagleHistory"/> It published daily for two months, then weekly until 1884 when it went back to daily. In 1907, Henry Allen purchased the ''Beacon'' and was publisher for many years.<ref>[http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/collections/local_history/tihen/pdf/People&Places/Allen_Henrietta.PDF Wichita State University Libraries]</ref><ref>[https://kspress.com/76/allen-henry-j Henry J. Allen; Kansas Press Association.]</ref><!-- NOTE from User:Sbmeirow - The 1914 books said Floyd and Sowers started Beacon, the 2016 Eagle article said F.A. Sowers and David Millison started the Beacon. I left out the 2nd name because of conflict. We need more sources to determine the 2nd person. --> In 1926, the Levand brothers, Max, Leonard, John and Louis purchased the Wichita Beacon from Senator Henry Allen. The Levand brothers had grown up in Denver selling the Denver Post on the street-corners of Denver. Max Levand remained editor, publisher until his death in March 1960.
===Mergers=== The ''Eagle'' and ''Beacon'' competed for 88 years, then in 1960 the ''Eagle'' purchased the ''Beacon''. Both newspapers continued to be published, the ''Eagle'' in the morning, the ''Beacon'' in the evening, the ''Eagle and Beacon'' on Sunday.<ref name="Paper-2016-EagleHistory"/>
In 1973, the Murdock family sold the paper to Ridder Publications. Ridder and Knight Newspapers merged in 1974 to form Knight Ridder, which combined the two newspapers into ''The Wichita Eagle-Beacon'' in 1980.<ref name="Paper-2016-EagleHistory"/>
In 1989, the ''Beacon'' name was dropped, and the newspaper became ''The Wichita Eagle''.<ref name="Paper-2016-EagleHistory"/>
In 2006, the ''Eagle'' became part of The McClatchy Company when McClatchy bought Knight Ridder.<ref name="Paper-2016-EagleHistory"/>
===Internet=== On November 18, 1996, the ''Eagle'' launched its first website, ''Wichita Online'', at wichitaeagle.com. On January 22, 2000, it shifted its primary content to the domain kansas.com.<ref name="Paper-2016-EagleHistory"/>
===Move=== In spring 2016, McClatchy Company announced that it would transfer printing of the ''Eagle'' from Wichita to its ''Kansas City Star'' printing line in Kansas City, Missouri, which already prints other newspapers such as ''Lawrence Journal-World'' and ''Topeka Capital-Journal''. The move eliminated 27 full-time and 47 part-time jobs. The building will be sold and the editing staff will move to a smaller location in downtown Wichita.<ref>[http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article66013147.html Eagle to transfer printing to Kansas City Star; The Wichita Eagle; March 14, 2016.]</ref><ref>[https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2016/mar/15/wichita-eagle-transfer-printing-kansas-city-star/ Wichita Eagle to transfer printing to Kansas City Star; Lawrence Journal-World; March 15, 2016.]</ref> In fall 2016, Cargill announced that it would move its "Protein Group" headquarters from downtown Wichita into a new $60 Million building on the site of the former ''Eagle'' building at 825 East Douglas Avenue in Old Town.<ref>[http://www.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article105193381.html Cargill selects site for new Wichita headquarters for its Protein Group; The Wichita Eagle; September 30, 2016.]</ref><ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2016/12/01/cargill-unveils-plans-for-60-million-headquarters.html Cargill unveils plans for $60 million Protein Group headquarters; Wichita Business Journal; December 1, 2016.]</ref>
In January 2017, the paper announced it had signed a deal for office space in the Old Town area of downtown Wichita. It plans to move newsroom and advertising employees to 330 North Mead (from 825 East Douglas) in the spring of 2017.<ref>[http://www.kansas.com/news/business/article124312049.html Wichita Eagle signs deal for new downtown headquarters; The Wichita Eagle; January 3, 2017.]</ref> The new site is located southeast of the Warren Old Town Theater.
Effective October 23, 2023, the paper's daily print edition will be delivered via the U.S. Mail instead of delivery by a local carrier.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roehrman |first=Michael |date=2023-08-18 |title=To our readers: Two changes are coming to The Wichita Eagle |url=https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article278344379.html |website=kansas.com}}</ref>
In April 2024, The ''Eagle'' announced it was moving to the Epic Center in downtown Wichita at 301 N. Main St.<ref>[http://www.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article287833435.html The Wichita Eagle is moving, but not far: ‘We like being in the heart of the city’; The Wichita Eagle; April 22, 2024.]</ref> The new site is one block from The ''Eagle's'' first home in 1872, in a wood building at Third and Main streets.
In September 2024, the ''Eagle'' moved to a three day printing schedule, printing a Wednesday, Friday and Sunday edition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article289580792.html|title=The Wichita Eagle to change print days as digital transition evolves|date=June 28, 2024|access-date=December 1, 2025|website=The Wichita Eagle|last=Roehrman|first=Michael}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Kansas|Journalism}} * List of newspapers in Kansas
==References== {{Reflist}} * Michael Hoyt, (July, 1992) "The Wichita Experiment", (''Columbia Journalism Review'') * The McClatchy Company, [http://www.mcclatchy.com/146/story/366.html Newspaper Profiles: The Wichita Eagle], accessed October 17, 2006.
==Further reading== * ''History of Wichita and Sedgwick County Kansas : Past and present, including an account of the cities, towns, and villages of the county'' (two volumes); O.H. Bentley; 454 and 479 pages; 1910. (Online Book [https://archive.org/details/historyofwichita01bent Vol 1], [https://archive.org/details/historyofwichita02bent Vol 2]) * ''Wichita: Illustrated History 1868 to 1880''; Eunice S. Chapter; 52 pages; 1914. ([https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00daug Online Book]) * ''Wichita: The Early Years, 1865-80''; H. Craig Miner; 201 page; 1982; {{ISBN|0-8032-3077-X}}. * ''Knightfall: Knight Ridder and How the Erosion of Newspaper Journalism is Putting Democracy at Risk''; Davis Merritt; 242 pages; 2005; {{ISBN|0-8144-0854-0}}.
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.kansas.com}}
{{McClatchy}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wichita Eagle}} Category:Knight Ridder Category:Newspapers published in Kansas Category:Newspapers established in 1872 Category:Mass media in Wichita, Kansas Category:McClatchy publications Category:1872 establishments in Kansas