St. Mary and Frankin Banner-Tribune I Daily-Review

The Daily Review in Morgan City, La. has served St. Mary Parish since 1872. The St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune in Franklin, La. is 121 years old. The St. Mary Journal Shopper was established in 1960.

Louisiana State Newspapers purchased three St. Mary Parish newspapers and weekly shopper from the Shirley family in 2010. Doyle Shirley purchased the newspapers from the Carmage Walls group in 1973 and served as president and publisher until his death in 2001, when sons Steve and Andy assumed control.

The Daily Review

Serving St. Mary Parish since 1872, The Daily Review was purchased by Louisiana State Newspapers in 2010. Prior that that, Doyle "Red" Shirley purchased the newspaper from the Carmage Walls group, a Montgomery, Ala. based corporation, in 1973. Walls had owned the newspaper since 1968. Shirley had worked for Walls since the 1950s.

The early history can be traced to a paper names the Attakapas Register that had been in publication in one form or another since 1857 in Franklin. James R. Jolley purchased that newspaper in 1872 and moved it to the town of Brashear (later named Morgan City). Jolley continued the Attakapas Register until 1878 when he renamed it the Morgan City Review.

In 1915, Jolley's widow acquired another newspaper bring published in Morgan City, the Bulletin, and created The Review Bulletin. In 1919, ownership passed to Charles Edwin King, Charlie King and Frederick C. Hannaford. In 1968 Carmage Walls purchased the weekly newspaper, converted it to a daily product, and changed the name to The Daily Review.

St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune

The Banner-Tribune has been continuously published since its founding on April 15, 1889, as The St. Mary Banner. The St. Mary Banner encountered competition from the Franklin Tribune, an offshoot of the Patterson Tribune in 1931. In December of that same year, the owner of the St. Mary Banner died and the two papers merged to for the St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune.

The St. Mary Banner had quite a pedigree, having been formed by soon-to-be-Governor Murphy J. Foster, Sr., and sitting Senator Donelson Caffery. Its early 19th century predecessors were highly the regarded Planter's Banner and the Attakapas Register.

The paper became the first Louisiana installation of the Goss Suburban Press in 1959. In the 1960s the paper was sold to the Walls group, becoming the headquarters of the Walls' Louisiana properties, overseeing Franklin, Morgan City, Houma and Thibodaux from the Franklin Office.

St. Mary Journal

The St. Mary Journal shopper was established in 1960 by two locals, Paul Vella and Harry Gauthier. Originally founded as Shopper's Weekly, the name later changed to St. Mary Journal, and an attempt was made to distribute throughout the parish and convert to subscriber-only to be able to compete for the legal notice advertising. The effort failed and the shopper continued as free circulation. Shirley purchased the publication in 1980.

Located approximately 70 miles southwest of New Orleans, 60 miles south of Baton Rouge and 60 miles east of Lafayette, Morgan City is at the mouth of the Atchafalaya Basin. Franklin serves as the Parish Seat.

The Daily Review and the St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune are published Monday through Friday.

The St. Mary Journal is published on Sunday.

 

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