ROOTED IN THE PAST, DEDICATED TO THE FUTURE
1869-78
The Chattanooga Times was founded and began publication on December 15, 1869. In 1878, Adolph Simon Ochs paid $250 for half interest in the paper with an option to buy the other half. He was 20 years old.
1890s
In 1896, Ochs purchased The New York Times and moved to New York City. Its circulation was 20,000. In less than a decade, daily circulation rose to more than 100,000. He remained as publisher of The Chattanooga Times.
1930s
Roy Ketner McDonald introduced a free publication, delivered doorto-door, in 1933. The paper served as an advertising vehicle for his chain of 70 grocery stores. By 1936, the Chattanooga Free Press was in full weekly circulation.
1930s
In 1939, the Free Press purchased its evening competitor, The Chattanooga News. The paper’s name was changed to Chattanooga News-Free Press.
1940s
The Times and News-Free Press set up joint business and production operations in 1942 when World War II prompted wartime economies. That partnership would last for 24 years.
1960s
Ruth Sulzberger Holmberg, a granddaughter of Mr. Ochs, became publisher of The Chattanooga Times in 1964, a position she would hold until 1992. In 1966 the papers dissolved their joint operating agreement.
1980s
The Times and News-Free Press formed a new joint operating agreement in 1980. The papers remained in separate locations.
1990s
In 1998,
Walter E. Hussman Jr. of Little Rock, Arkansas, bought the Free Press. He later purchased The Times, moving it into the Free Press building. The first edition of the Chattanooga Times Free Press was published on Jan. 5, 1999.