Talk:Timeline of newspapers in Birmingham

Sorting it out

The primary reason I created this page was to try to sort out the many contradictory things found in other BhamWiki articles, particularly during the late 19th century. I'm going to start a list here as separate topics for reference and discussion. --Lkseitz 11:19, 5 February 2010 (PST)

Daily Iron Age

From Birmingham Iron Age:

Birmingham Iron Age was a weekly newspaper published from 1874 to 1884. [...] On May 1, 1884, the paper changed its name to The Weekly Iron Age.

Frank Evans

In July 1881 Evans relocated to Birmingham and bought a one-half interest in the Weekly Iron Age. That December he and W. C. Garrett expanded the paper's operations into a daily, reorganized under the Iron Age Publishing Company in 1882 with Evans as president. Forced by ill health to resign in 1883, Evans returned to publishing ... in January 1884....

From Birmingham Post-Herald:

The Jefferson Independent lasted for two years before it was bought by Willis Roberts and Frank M. Grace, who again changed the name, this time to The Weekly Iron Age. In 1881, the paper again changed hands. The new owners, W.C. Garrett and R.H. Thornton, again changed the name to The Daily Birmingham Age and began daily publication for the first time.

The Birmingham Public Library has the newspapers showing the Iron Age was still a weekly in December 1881. And that the name didn't change from Birmingham to Weekly until 1884. A closer inspection of the papers will be necessary to establish the owners/publishers throughout its history.

Obviously something happened in 1881 involving W. C. Garrett and Birmingham newspapers. His name is found in the masthead of the Iron Age as proprietor starting in at least January 19, 1881. A search found his name there up until August 1882, but given the quality of the print it could still be there later. If he started a daily, it was separate from the Iron Age. --Lkseitz 11:19, 5 February 2010 (PST)

• And indeed it was. I found this announcment of the The Daily Age as a separate paper from the Birmingham Iron Age in the December 1, 1881 Iron Age.

the proprietors announce that the first issue of The Daily Age will appear Saturday morning, the 3d of December. [...] Subscribers to the Weekly Iron Age will lose nothing by this new arrangement, as this publication will still be continued and much improved.

Interesting that it's referred to as the Weekly Iron Age even though the masthead still says Birmingham Iron Age. Apparently even The History of Birmingham and Its Environs got it wrong by saying the paper changed its name to The Daily Age, which could be the source of all subsequent errors. Perhaps the weekly issue was also considered one of the daily editions, kind of like the combined Birmingham News and Post-Herald did on Saturdays prior to the Post-Herald's demise?

And just to make things interesting, the November 20, 1885 issue has The Birmingham Age on the front page. --Lkseitz 11:42, 5 February 2010 (PST)