About
Mission Statement/Motto: The Telegraph will be the pre-eminent source of news, information, and advertising in the Middle Georgia region. It will do this by offering high-value products and services through the newspaper, website, mobile apps and partnerships with other media. The company will grow revenue and be good stewards of its resources in order to grow profit. The Telegraph’s historic mission, to inform the residents of Middle Georgia and to act as a community watchdog, is a privilege, responsibility and source of competitive strength. A commitment to customers and employees is fundamental to the company’s success.
Founded: In 1826, three years after the Georgia General Assembly chartered Macon, Dr. Myron Bartlett founded The Telegraph as a weekly newspaper. The first edition of The Telegraph appeared on Nov. 1, 1826. In 1855, Joseph Clisby became owner and editor of The Telegraph and saw it emerge as a daily newspaper after the Civil War. The Macon Telegraph merged with The Messenger in 1869. The News was founded by 16-year-old Jerome Pound with an investment of $8 in 1884. W.T. Anderson published and edited The Macon Telegraph until 1940, and it was during this period that The Macon Telegraph and The Macon News were merged into The Macon Telegraph Publishing Company.
In February 1969, The Macon Telegraph Publishing Company became part of Knight Newspapers, Inc., which later merged with Ridder Publications to become Knight Ridder. In 1990, the paper was redesigned and renamed The Macon Telegraph. In December 1997, The Macon Telegraph acquired The (Warner Robins) Daily Sun, The Buyers’ Guide and The Byron Gazette. In February of 2003, The Macon Telegraph absorbed the Warner Robins Daily Sun customers as part of an expanded Houston edition that was a component of the newspaper’s product improvement plan. In 2005, the paper became The Telegraph, and The Telegraph Houston Edition was replaced by the weekly Houston Peach.
In June of 2006, The Telegraph was acquired by The McClatchy Company with McClatchy’s purchase of Knight Ridder. Today, The Telegraph also produces The Sun News, launched in 2008 as an expanded and revamped version of the Houston Peach, Neighbors and Bibb Living.
