THE REPORTER Milestone
Later in the 1960s, Roberts took over layout responsibilities for the news sec tion, McCourt was named Lifestyle editor, and Shearer replaced Myers as sports editor before leaving for Army duty in Vietman.
Shortly after his return in 1969, Shearer shifted to news and joined Roberts as co-city editors. In time, Roberts moved to managing editor and Shearer to news editor. It was during this time that The Reporter drastically changed its appearance by increasing photo sizes and adopting a modern horizontal layout that reduced the number of front page stories from as many as 16 to a half-dozen or less.
The biggest news of the 1960-70s era was the installation of a new Goss offset printing press that increased the number of pages per edition to 56, provided crisp, clean reproduction and allowed for fullcolor photographs. It was the first press of this type used by a newspaper in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Subscribers were so pleased with the improved quality of The Reporter that more than 2,000 of them turned out on the paper’s 100th anniversary for a tour of the plant and a chance to see the new press in action.
During the 1970-2000 time span, The Reporter was at its peak with a daily circulation of close to 30,000 subscribers. It averaged approximately 44 pages a day, sometimes as high as 56. News coverage was expanded to meet the changing times. Specialty pages were developed for lifest yle and trends, a weekly youth page was added and an investigation team was formed. Separate editions were published
for three regions; the news staff was expanded to include 35 writers, editors, photographers and support staff. News bureaus were established in Ambler, Doylestown and Norristown.
Of course, all of this growth was fueled by advertising dollars. During the 1970s, for example, most businesses — retail and industrial — were locally-owned, and they supported The Reporter with daily or weekly ads. At one point, the paper published eight pages of classified advertising on prime days of the week, far more than its nearby competitors.
It was also during the 1970s that Howard C. Berky stepped aside as publisher and was replaced by his son, Chuck Berky, who followed his father’s forwardthinking approach to journalism.
As the decade ended, The Reporter’s location and press also attracted attention outside the North Penn region. Gannett Co. Inc., one of the largest newspaper chains in the nation, took an interest in Lansdale as a regional publishing site for its new nationwide newspaper, USA TODAY.
In a surprise move in 1980, Gannett announced
it had purchased The Reporter, ending 110 years of local ownership. Almost immediately, the print facility was upgraded to meet USA TODAY standards. Chuck Berky stepped down as publisher to be replaced by William McKinney, a production specialist who came on board to oversee the USA TODAY’s printing launch in Lansdale.
In 1982, Eric Wolferman was brought in as executive editor. Shearer, who stayed on after the ownership change, remained the managing editor, a promotion he had been given a few years earlier.
Wolferman was followed by executive editors John X. Miller and Dennis Lyons, all of whom improved the quality of news coverage, investigative reporting and diversity in the newsroom.
By the end of the century, The Reporter and its staff had won more than 300 state and national awards for news excellence, photography, advertising and promotion. Among the achievements were Gannett’s national Newspaper of the Year Award and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association’s Newspaper of the Year Award.
Gannett’s ownership of The Reporter ended in