02/17/2024
SUN NEWSPAPERS
SUN NEWSPAPERS grew from a single weekly into the dominant suburban newspaper chain of metropolitan Cleveland. Its nucleus was the Shaker Sun, founded by Harry Volk in 1946. Within 6 years, Volk had purchased the Heights Press, which he merged with the Sun as the Sun Press, and the Hillcrest Messenger, which was renamed the Sun Messenger. He expanded his operations to the west side by acquiring half-interests in the Lakewood Post and the Fairview-Rocky River Herald, which were rechristened the Sun Post and Sun Herald, respectively.
Regarding the SUBURBS as "the new frontier of journalism," Volk published on Thursdays in order to effectively cover Wednesday council meetings. By the time he sold out in 1969, he had built the Sun chain up to 6 newspapers, with a combined circulation of over 140,000. Volk's holdings were purchased for a reported $2 million by ComCorp, a venture owned by HOWARD METZENBAUM and David Skylar. Owners of the Sun Post of PARMA and the West Side Sun News, the new publishers continued purchasing established newspapers.
After ComCorp went public in the early 1970s, Sun Newspapers experienced a succession of owners. Acquired first by Booth Newspapers of Ann Arbor, MI, they were sold in 1977 to the Post Corp. of Wisconsin, which in turn was purchased by Geo. Gillette of Nashville, TN. Local growth was maintained, as the Euclid Sun Journal and Collinwood Sun Scoop Journal were added to the chain.
In 1986 Sun Newspapers were sold to a group of local and out-of-town investors organized as the SunMedia Corp. Included in the package was Gowe Printing of Medina, where the weeklies were printed. The chain had grown by 1995 to 76 community newspapers with a combined circulation of approx. 262,000. Its publications within Cuyahoga County also included the Bedford Sun Banner, Garfield-Maple Hts. Sun, Solon Herald Sun, Chagrin Herald Sun, Sun Courier (BRECKSVILLE-INDEPENDENCE-BROADVIEW HTS.-VALLEY VIEW), Brooklyn Sun Journal, News Sun (BEREA-BROOK PARK-MIDDLEBURG HTS.), and Sun Star (STRONGSVILLE-N. ROYALTON).
