The Fontana Herald News is a weekly newspaper in Fontana, San Bernardino County, California, founded in 1923 as the Fontana Herald by Cornelius DeBakcsy and in 1944 as the Fontana News by J. Clifton Toney and Vernon Paine. It is owned by Times Media Group.
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Times Media Group |
| Founder(s) | Cornelius DeBakcsy |
| Founded | August 1, 1948 |
| Language | English |
| City | Fontana, California |
| Country | United States |
| OCLC number | 35649566 |
| Website | fontanaheraldnews |
In 2020, the newspaper had a self-reported weekly circulation of 14,381.[1]
Herald founding and growth
editThe Herald was established as a weekly on June 7, 1923, by Cornelius DeBakcsy when Fontana had fewer than five hundred residents.[2][3]
In July, 1931, the newspaper moved into a building formerly occupied by a justice of the peace and two businesses, preparatory to extensive remodeling to accommodate a new printing press.[3] The new plant was dedicated with a banquet where Senator Samuel M. Shortridge was the featured speaker, and other speakers were to be R.C. Harbison, editor of the San Bernardino Sun, Justus Craemer of the National Editorial Association, John B. Long of the California Newspaper Publishers Association and Burton L. Smith of the Los Angeles Times. Film star Bela Lugosi also spoke.[4][5]
DeBakcsy biography
edit
In Europe
editDeBakcsy was born on May 23, 1880. His father's surname was Debakcsy and his mother's birth name was Ashner.[6]
DeBakcsy said he entered journalism in 1899 or 1901, when he began to write for a weekly newspaper in Hungary.[4][7]
He said he was the first to file a story concerning the murder of King Alexander and Queen Draga of Serbia in 1903, being the only foreign correspondent there. Later he worked with Ahmed Pasha, the head of the Young Turks after Abdul Hamid, the last Turkish Sultan, was overthrown, and he covered the Balkan War as a correspondent. He also said that in 1904 he was editor and publisher of the official newspaper of the Hungarian government, and in 1905 he established the first news service between the Balkan states and Western Europe.[7][8]
In 1913, he said, his political party lost power in Hungary, and he was ousted as editor of its newspaper.[8]
In the United States
editDeBakcsy came to the United States on tour and became the Hungarian press representative in the Panama–Pacific International Exposition of 1915.[8]
In 1915 he was named associate editor of Szabadsag (Liberty), a Hungarian-language newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio, after he was prevented by the outbreak of war from returning home while he was visiting his brother, Charles G. DeBakcsy in Portland, Oregon.[9][10]
He moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1920, where he had a "poultry project," and then the same year he moved to Fontana and became associated with A.B. Miller, founder of the community.[8]
DeBakcsky was secretary of the Fontana Chamber of Commerce for ten years in the 1930s.[11][8]
In February 1935, DeBakcsy spoke to the Arcadia, California, Rotary Club, saying that there were more communists in America than there were in Russia at the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917.[12] In January 1938 he warned that "communists and communist sympathizers would undermine" the United States.[13]
In September of the same year, DeBakcsy was chairman of a committee which dedicated a tree in the San Sevaine flats, west of Lytle Creek Canyon in honor of San Bernardino County Supervisor J.E Elliott, noted forester.[14]
In 1936, DeBakcsy and his wife, Gizella, were registered as Republicans in San Bernardino County.[15] In 1937 he was president of the San Bernardino County Chamber of Commerce, of which he was one of the organizers.[16][8]
DeBakcsy was president of the 28th Agricultural District in California, beginning in 1938.[17][18]
DeBakcsy was honored on August 26, 1939, with a dinner-tribute in Fontana on his 40th anniversary in the newspaper business. Present were former Governors Friend W. Richardson and Frank F. Merriam.[7]
He died in his home on September 16, 1947, leaving his widow and a son, Alex, who was business manager of the Herald.[8][19]
Legacy
editA bas-relief plaque of DeBakcsy was presented to the Fontana Women's Club by artist Yucca Salamunich on January 26, 1948. It was unveiled by retired film actress Betty Blythe Scardon.[20]
News founding and growth
editThe Fontana News began publication on November 30, 1944, with J. Clifton Toney as editor and co-owner with Vernon Paine, publisher of the Upland News. In October 1946 Toney bought Paine's interest and established a plant for the newspaper in Fontana.[21]
Merger and later ownership
editThe Herald, at that time a semiweekly publication, was purchased by Robert K. Hancock, former publisher of the Santa Maria Times, from Alex DeBakcsy in June 1948.[22] The Herald and the News were merged effective August 1, 1948.[21]
In 1952 the newspaper was sold to Mynatt Smith and Wilbur Mackey of McAllen, Texas.[23]
George Riggs was the publisher in 1977 and in 1984. In the latter year, the newspaper was published five days a week, with a circulation of 8,000. It had been purchased by Buckner News Alliance, a Seattle, Washington-based chain of eight dailies, in 1967.[24][25][26]
In June 1989 the newspaper was bought by the Riverside Press-Enterprise. Tim Hays, the P-E's editor and chairman, later said the Herald-News had been "sick" and losing money for years.[27][28]
In November 1990 the newspaper announced it would cease publishing on November 9. Hays said it had a circulation of 2,500, which made it the fourth-smallest among 113 daily California newspapers, employing 24 full-time and 10 part-time workers, and that it was financially unsuccessful.[28] The newspaper was, however, rescued when it was purchased by Century Group Newspapers, which had plans of reviving it by focusing its content "100 percent" on local news, said Gerald Bean, head of the group.[29]
In 2024, the newspaper was sold to Times Media Group.[30]
References
edit- ^ Century Group
- ^ "Fontana to Observe Its Fourteenth Anniversary With Celebration Today," The Sun, San Bernardino, California, June 7, 1927, page 1
- ^ a b "New Fontana Herald Plant Being Pushed," San Bernardino Daily Sun, July 14, 1931, image 13
- ^ a b "Fontana Will Play Host to Editors' Body," San Bernardino Daily Sun, July 25, 1931, image 17
- ^ "Editors Pay Honor to DeBakcsy As Fontana Publisher Observes End of 30 Years as Journalist," The San Bernardino Daily Sun, July 26, 1931, image 1
- ^ State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics
- ^ a b c "Fontana Publisher Marks 40th Year in News Work," Los Angeles Times, August 25, 1939, image 18
- ^ a b c d e f g "DeBakcsy, Noted Fontana Publisher, Dies Suddenly," San Bernardino Sun, September 17, 1947, image 13
- ^ Cleveland Plain Dealer, cited in "Just Missed Double Regicide," Mexico (Missouri) Weekly Ledger, November 25, 1915, image 4]
- ^ "Noted Sleuth Sees Brother In Visit Here," San Bernardino Daily Sun, June 19, 1925, image 11
- ^ "F.R. Williams Named President of Fontana Chamber; Installation to Be at First Meet in October," San Bernardino Daily Sun, June 14, 1930, image 14
- ^ "DeBakcsy Gives Address on Europe Situation in Talk Before Rotary Club," Arcadia (California) Tribune, February 22, 1935, image 1
- ^ "Rotary Speaker Warns of Red Movements; Tells of Europe," The Times-Advocate, Escondido, California, January 14, 1938, image 1
- ^ "Dedication of Elliott Tree in Hills to Honor Former Forest Supervisor," San Bernardino Daily Sun, September 24, 1935, image 5
- ^ California Voter Registrations, 1900-1868
- ^ "Zontas and Guests Hear DeBakcsy," San Bernardino Daily Sun, September 9, 1937, image 8
- ^ "Day's Host," San Bernardino Daily Sun, November 20, 1941, image 7
- ^ "DeBakcsy Reappointed on Agricultural Board," San Bernardino Daily Sun, November 23, 1944, image 11
- ^ "Fontana 'Herald' Publisher Dies," Los Angeles Times, September 17, 1947, image 14
- ^ "DeBakcsy Plaque Unveiled at Fontana Event," San Bernardino Daily Sun, January 28, 1948, image 15
- ^ a b "Merger Announced by Fontana Newspapers," San Bernardino Daily Sun, July 29, 1948, image 19
- ^ "Fontana Herald Purchased by Samta Maria Man," San Bernardino Daily Sun, June 8, 1948, image 17
- ^ "Fontana Herald Sale Announced," Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1952, image 54
- ^ "Correction," Sun-Telegram, San Bernardino, October 5, 1977, image 15
- ^ "Riggs Named Publisher of Corona Paper," The Sun, San Bernardino, May 8, 1984, image 28
- ^ "Corona Paper Changes Hands," Chino Valley (California) News, May 23, 1984, image 6
- ^ Editor & Publisher, Volume 122, 1989, exact date unknown
- ^ a b Suzanne Elliott and Luis Monteagudo Jr., The Sun, San Bernardino, California, November 1, 1990, images 17 and 20
- ^ Graham Witherall, "Fontana Herald to Reopen," The Sun, November 9, 1990, image 26
- ^ Hernandez Jr., Hector N. (2024-07-03). "Record Gazette sold to Arizona-based publishing group". Banning Record Gazette. Retrieved 2024-07-05.