- For the television series, see Knight Rider.
Knight Ridder (Template:IPA2) NYSE: KRI is an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. The company owns 31 daily newspapers throughout the United States, and is the second largest newspaper publisher in the nation. The company is headquarted in San José, California.
History
The corporate ancestors of Knight Ridder are Knight Newspapers, Inc. and Ridder Publications, Inc. The first company was founded by John S. Knight upon inheriting control of the Akron Beacon Journal from his father, Charles, in 1933; the second company was founded by Herman Ridder when he acquired the German language Staats-Zeitung newspaper in 1892. As anti-German sentiment increased between the two world wars, Ridder successfully transitioned into English-language publishing by acquiring the Journal of Commerce in 1926.
Both companies went public in 1969 and merged in 1974. For a brief time, the combined company was the largest newspaper publisher in the United States.
Knight Ridder has a long history of innovation in technology. It was one of the first newspaper publishers to experiment with videotex when it launched its Viewtron system in 1982, was one of the first to actively develop newspaper content for America Online in 1993, and joined the ill-fated New Century Network project in 1994.
Its current flagship newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News, was one of the first daily newspapers to regularly publish its full content to the World Wide Web. Around 2000, KR moved its headquarters from Miami to be closer to its rising star in San Jose (although it chose to rent a sleek downtown high-rise rather than build new office space as it had previously done in Miami).
Partial list of newspapers
The following is a partial list of newspapers owned by Knight Ridder:
- Akron Beacon Journal
- The Bellingham (Wash.) Herald
- The Biloxi Sun Herald
- The Charlotte Observer
- Contra Costa Times
- The Idaho Statesman
- The Kansas City Star
- The Macon Telegraph
- The Miami Herald
- The Myrtle Beach Sun News
- The Olympian (Olympia)
- Philadelphia Daily News
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Saint Paul Pioneer Press
- The San Luis Obispo Tribune
- San Jose Mercury News
- Star-Telegram (Fort Worth)
- The State
- (State College, Pa.) Centre Daily Times
- The Wichita Eagle
Trivia
- The Dutch name "Ridder" is closely related to the German name "Ritter." Both names mean "knight."