[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING 115 YEARS OF THE TIMES LEADER

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                          HON. MATT CARTWRIGHT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 7, 2023

  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Speaker, today I honor The Times Leader, a 7 day 
newspaper covering Northeastern Pennsylvania, on its 115th anniversary. 
The flagship of the Times Leader Media group, it is a collection of 
print and digital mediums covering the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 
metropolitan. area.
  In 1907, Fred C. Kirkendall of The Wilkes-Barre Times and Colonel 
Ernest G. Smith of The Times Leader combined their newspapers. This new 
paper operated as The Times Leader until a major strike in 1939 forced 
the paper to merge with the Wilkes-Barre Record and Evening News. 
Together, these 3 papers formed The Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company. 
Col. Smith, John A. Hourigan, Dr. Frederick Johnson and Harrison Smith 
all contributed to running the successful news company, producing 2 
highly read, competing papers: the morning-circulated Wilkes-Barre 
Record and The Times Leader Evening News.
  In 1972, as the region was recovering from the effects of the Agnes 
Flood, the newspapers faced yet another merger, forming a new 
publication under the name The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader/The Evening 
News/Wilkes-Barre Record. This long and cumbersome name only lasted 
until 1978 when Capital Cities Corporation purchased the paper, and 
once again, it was to be called The Times Leader.
  The late 20th century saw significant growth and changes for The 
Times Leader. In 1987, they began circulating a highly successful 
Sunday edition, and in 1989, they acquired Greater Pittston's Sunday 
Dispatch. In 1997, the paper purchased a state-of-the-art printing 
press that offered the latest printing technologies. By the end of 
2000, the Times Leader had also acquired The Dallas Post and The 
Abington Journal.
  Today, The Times Leader, under the direction of publisher Kerry 
Miscavage and executive editor Joe Soprano, continues to uphold its 
impressive reputation as an award-winning source of local and regional 
news. Offering essential news coverage and thoughtful, incisive 
reporting, the paper has a robust and loyal readership in the region. I 
wish the entire team at The Times Leader all the best as they celebrate 
115 years of outstanding journalism.

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