Asheville Citizen-Times

The Asheville Citizen-Times was founded as the Asheville Citizen in 1870 by Randolph Abbott Shotwell, who conceived the newspaper as a voice for Conservative-Democratic politics. After the Western North Carolina Railroad reached Asheville in 1880, the circulation and influence of the Citizen grew with the town. It became a daily in 1885. Over the next several decades the newspaper, as the only morning daily west of Charlotte and Winston-Salem, was a consistent advocate of economic progress in the Mountain region.

Over the years, the Citizen experienced a number of changes, becoming one of the first newspapers to have a linotype machine in the state. It changed ownership many times until 1930, when then-owner Charles A. Webb formed the Asheville Citizen-Times Company with Don S. Elias, publisher of the afternoon Asheville Times. One Sunday edition of both papers was consolidated under the name Citizen-Times, although the editorial staffs remained separate and followed independent policies. The Citizen continued to support regional development, especially concerning the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. In 1954 the Peace family of South Carolina acquired the company and in 1969 consolidated it with the Greenville News-Piedmont Company and Southeast Broadcasting Corporation to form Multimedia, Inc. In 1991 the Citizen and the Times merged into one newspaper, the Asheville Citizen-Times, and four years later Multimedia, Inc., was purchased by the giant communications corporation, the Gannett Company.