The Ohio State Journal
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Scripps-Howard |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | December 31, 1985 |
| Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio |
The Columbus Citizen-Journal was a daily morning newspaper in Columbus, Ohio published by the Scripps Howard company. It was formed in 1959 by the merger of The Columbus Citizen and The Ohio State Journal. It shared printing facilities, as well as business, advertising, and circulation staff in a joint operating agreement with The Columbus Dispatch. The last paper printed was on December 31, 1985.
The origins of The Columbus Citizen-Journal date back to 1809 when the first printing press in central Ohio was introduced in the town of Worthington by two men from New England. This led to the establishment of the Worthington Intelligencer newspaper two years later. The paper's operations were moved to nearby Columbus in 1814 after that city became the state's new capital. The newspaper was renamed The Ohio State Journal, and it became the official mouthpiece of the then-new Republican Party in the late 1850s, guided by its editor and proprietor, James M. Comly. Following Comly's military service during the American Civil War, he returned to Columbus and rapidly established the Journal as one of the leading newspapers in Ohio. Through his editorials, Comly is considered by many to have been instrumental in helping Rutherford B. Hayes be elected Governor of Ohio and later President of the United States. Comly left the paper in 1872 when he was named to a diplomatic post in Hawaii, but his guidance had firmly established its importance in Ohio politics and news reporting. Shortly after the start of the 20th century, the paper was purchased by the Wolfe family. In 1950, they merged The Ohio State Journal with the Dispatch Printing Company.
The rival Columbus Citizen had been founded in 1899 as an independent newspaper not affiliated with a political party. In 1959, it was merged by its owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, with The Ohio State Journal to form The Columbus Citizen-Journal. The Citizen-Journal, which was published by Scripps in the morning Monday through Saturday, operated under a "joint operating agreement" with its rival, the afternoon Columbus Dispatch. The C-J was editorially separate, but shared the physical printing plant and the distribution and advertising staffs of the Dispatch.
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