Potter Leader-Enterprise

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Potter Leader-Enterprise
TypeWeekly Newspaper
Owner(s)Community Media Group / Tioga Publishing Group
PublisherPhilip Husick II
EditorRecommended
Founded1875
Headquarters6 2nd Street, Coudersport, Pennsylvania United States
Circulation6,000
ISSN0895-6839
OCLC number16729019
Websitehttp://www.tiogapublishing.com/potter_leader_enterprise/

The Potter Leader-Enterprise is an American weekly newspaper serving Coudersport, Pennsylvania, with a circulation of over 6,000 copies.[1] It is published weekly on Wednesdays.[2] The paper is owned by Community Media Group, Inc.

History[]

The Potter Enterprise was founded by Knox and Thompson and several others in 1875.[3] The paper had 24 stockholders, residents of county holding 151 shares.[3][4] By 1880, W.W. Thompson became sole owner of the paper's shares.[3] The paper was purchased by David Butterworth in December 1886.[5] Butterworth had previously published the Potter County Journal for 9 years. Under his "clever management" Potter Enterprise became the leading paper in the county.[4]

Butterworth died suddenly in 1901[6] and his son sold the paper to M.J. Ostrander, who made the paper into a strict Republican newspaper.[7] M.T. Stokes joined the paper as publisher and editor around 1903 and became known for his "aggressive politics and fearless opposition to many interests, business and political."[8] Stokes made many enemies during his time at the paper, and is reported to have been kicked down by a bank president, horsewhipped by a woman, and paddled by a printer.[8] There were also numerous libel suits against the paper while it was under Stokes.[9] Things became so bad that in 1913, "political antagonists" set off dynamite in the Potter Enterprise printing plant.[10] Stokes ran for Congress as a Washington Party candidate in 1914, but was labeled as a joke.[11] Stokes was accused of blackguardism when he used the Potter Enterprise to abuse his Congressional opponent.[12] In 1920, Stokes sold his interests in the paper in 1920, and the Potter Enterprise continued to be the top paper in the county.[8]

Stokes sold the paper to A.A. Bernard and William Fish, who were owners of the rival Potter Democrat.[9] The paper stayed with the Fish family for a number of years. Bill Fish Jr. became co-owner of the paper in 1957, along with his wife Jill,[13] after having worked at the paper since he was in high school.[14] In 1958, the Enterprise acquired the Galeton Leader Dispatch.[15] After Bill Fish Jr. died in 1977,[14] Jill remained as the publisher of the paper until she sold it in 1983.[13] The paper was purchase by Stauffer Media, though Fish Sr.'s grandson, Paul Heimel, was appointed editor of the paper.[16] In 1986, Heimel left the Enterprise to work at the Potter County Leader and soon after, the Leader Publishing Company purchased the Enterprise.[16] The paper was renamed as the Potter Leader-Enterprise.

The paper was purchased by Community Media Group and is operated under its Tioga Publishing Group.[17] In 2017, Philip Husick II was named Publisher for the Tioga Publishing Group.

In 2018, The Potter Leader-Enterprise was named one of the eight best newspapers in Pennsylvania.[18]

Notable Coverage[]

In 2010, The Potter Leader-Enterprise broke the news that the company Adelphia Communications Corporation was involved in illegal activity. The paper published a full securities filing that detailed illegal activities by the company and founder John Rigas and his sons.[19] John Rigas and one of his sons, Timothy, were sentenced to 15 and 20 years of prison, respectively.

References[]

  1. ^ "Potter Leader Enterprise newspaper - MondoTimes.com". www.mondotimes.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  2. ^ "American Newspapers Representatives" (PDF). ANR. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Leeson, Michael A. (1890). History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania. J. H. Beers & Company.
  4. ^ a b Leeson, Michael A. (1890). History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania: With Biographical Selections; Including Their Early Settlement and Development; a Description of the Historic and Interesting Localities; Sketches of Their Cities, Towns and Villages ... Biographies of Representative Citizens; Outline History of Pennsylvania; Statistics. J. H. Beers & Company.
  5. ^ Leeson, Michael A. (1890). History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania: With Biographical Selections; Including Their Early Settlement and Development; a Description of the Historic and Interesting Localities; Sketches of Their Cities, Towns and Villages ... Biographies of Representative Citizens; Outline History of Pennsylvania; Statistics. J. H. Beers & Company.
  6. ^ "The Late Mr. D.W. Butterworth". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  7. ^ "Kent Butterworth Sells Potter Enterprise". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  8. ^ a b c "Sells His Paper after Stormy Career as Editor". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  9. ^ a b "Potter Enterprise Sold". The Wellsboro Gazette Combined with Mansfield Advertiser. 28 January 1920.
  10. ^ "Try to Wreck Newspaper in Coudersport". Star-Gazette. 2 October 1913.
  11. ^ "Stokes a Joke as a Congressional Candidate". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. 22 October 1914.
  12. ^ "Blackguardism". The Kane Republican. 16 April 1912.
  13. ^ a b "Jill Carlson Fish". TiogaPublishing.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  14. ^ a b "William Delos Fish". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  15. ^ "Galeton Paper Sold to Potter County Enterprise". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  16. ^ a b "21 Aug 1987, 3 - Star-Gazette at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  17. ^ "Tioga Publishing names new publisher". TiogaPublishing.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  18. ^ "Leader-Enterprise Named One Of Eight Best Newspapers In Pennsylvania". TiogaPublishing.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
  19. ^ "31 Dec 1969, Page A16 - The Philadelphia Inquirer at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-06-23.
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