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This
page considers Harte-Hanks Communications.
It covers -
introduction
US-based Harte-Hanks now centres on direct marketing
operations, customer relationship management software
(eg Trillium) and a handful of community shoppers, having
disposed of its broadcasting and daily newspaper interests
to Scripps in 1997 following
unsuccessful diversification.
As of the late 1990s it had niche advertising and special
interest publications that include newsstand publications,
guides covering specialist subjects such as television
and real estate, editions zoned to particular geographic
areas (primarily California and Florida), weekly news
products and military publications.
Its direct marketing operations include offices in Australia,
Germany, Eire, Belgium, the UK, Spain, Brazil and France.
history
The group traces its origins to newspapers founded and
acquired by by Houston Harte (1893-1972) of Knob Noster
(Missouri), in particular the San Angelo Standard,
and by Bernard Hanks (1884-1948), notably the Abilene
Reporter.
In 1920 Harte and Hanks established a partnership, while
continuing to independently acquire and operate some titles.
(Hanks, for example, operated what became the daily Abilene
Reporter-News.) Acquisitions included the San
Antonio Express, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
and Corpus Christi Caller Times.
In a precursor of later diversification, Harte bought
Sunset Motor Lines. The partnership was reorganised as
Harte-Hanks Newspapers, Inc in 1948 following the death
of Hanks, providing an umbrella for a large number of
autonomous operations (primarily in Texas). It continued
to acquire titles until 1973, with sale to Rupert Murdoch
of the San Antonio Express and News
(later merged as the Express-News and acquired
by Hearst).
The Express dated from 1866. In 1918 it launched
the San Antonio Evening News and in 1922 became
the owner of radio station WOAI, going on to acquire radio
station KYFM in 1947, KTSA in 1949, and KGBS (later KENS)
in 1954. After 1946 it also held large stakes in several
paper mills. Harte-Hanks gained control in 1960.
At its peak Harte-Hanks owned twenty-six dailies and forty-eight
other papers in the US Southeast, West Coast and Northeast.
Diversification encompassed direct mail, entertainment
products and even a Cessna aircraft agency.
It went public in 1972, with operations that included
radio and television stations, cable television, shoppers
and trade publications, distribution systems and marketing
services. An MBO in the early 1980s was affected by the
Texas oil bust, with some newspaper titles being unloaded.
It acquired an AM radio station in San Antonio, broadcasting
as KENS-AM from 1993.
Direct marketing acquisitions in 1996 included DiMark,
Inc and Marketing Communications. Harte-Hanks opened offices
in Australia and Brazil in 1996. During the following
year it acquired Information for Marketing Ltd, a London-based
provider of database marketing services.
In 1997 Scripps paid US$775
million for its newspaper and broadcast operations. They
included the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, San
Angelo Standard Times, Wichita Falls Times Record
News, Abilene Reporter-News, the Plano Star
Courier, Anderson Independent-Mail and broadcast
stations in San Antonio.
Harte-Hanks currently offers direct marketing services
and publishers several hundred local 'shoppers' under
PennySaver (California) and Flyer (southern
Florida) banners.
studies
There have been no major studies of the group or its founders.
chronology
1866 San Antonio Express founded as daily
1896 Abilene Daily Reporter founded
1916 Harte becomes publisher of Missouri Republican
in Boonville
1917 Corpus Christi Daily Democrat become Times
1920 buys San Angelo (Texas) Evening Standard
1920 Harte and Hanks form partnership
1928 Corpus Christi Times acquired by Harte and
Hanks
1929 Harte and Hanks buy Corpus Christi Caller
from King Ranch, establish Corpus Christi Caller-Times
1937 daily Abilene Reporter News formed through
merger of Abilene Morning News and Reporter
1948 group reorganised as Harte-Hanks Newspapers, Inc
1960 gains control of San Antonio Express group
1962 buys Bryan-College Station Eagle
1971 becomes Harte-Hanks Newspapers
1972 goes public
1972 buys Yakima Herald-Republic (est 1899)
1972 buys Anderson Daily Mail and Anderson Independent
(merged 1981)
1973 sells San Antonio Express-News to Murdoch
1976 buys Charleston Express, Paris Express
and Greenwood Democrat
1977 becomes Harte-Hanks Communications
1984 goes private in MBO
1986 sells Yakima Herald-Republic to Scudder
1988 sells Bryan-College Station Eagle to Worrell
Enterprises
1989 Harte-Hanks Communications v Connaughton case in
US Supreme Court
1993 Harte-Hanks goes public again
1996 opens offices in Australia and Brazil
1997 sells newspaper and broadcast operations to Scripps
for US$775m, inc Corpus Christi Caller-Times,
San Angelo Standard Times, Wichita Falls Times
Record News, Abilene Reporter-News and the
Plano Star Courier and Anderson Independent-Mail
1998 becomes Harte-Hanks Inc
1999 buys Ziff-Davis Market
Intelligence for US$106m
2000 buys IRG
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