The Beaumont Enterprise
The Beaumont Enterprise is a newspaper of Hearst Communications, headquartered in Beaumont, Texas.[2] It has been in operation since 1880.
Type
Daily newspaper
John W. Leonard
Jeff Bergin
Kaitlin Bain
1880
380 Main Street
Beaumont, TX 77701
United States
5,925 (as of 2023)[1]
History[edit]
John W. Leonard founded the initial Enterprise as a weekly newspaper in 1880.[3] It became a daily under editor W.W. McLeod in 1896 or 1897, to compete with crosstown rival Beaumont Journal[4] (founded 1889).[5]
In 1907, William P. Hobby became manager and part owner of the Enterprise [6] and bought the paper outright in 1920,[7] while Governor of Texas. One of his co-owners was general manager/associate publisher James Mapes.[8] According to the Texas State Historical Association, the Enterprise "attained national stature" under Mapes' leadership — He came to the newspaper in 1908 and rose to ownership by 1931.[5]
In 1918, Waco-based newspapermen Charles E. Marsh and E.S. Fentress purchased the crosstown competitor Beaumont Journal. Buying two other nearby papers (the weekly Port Arthur News[9] and the daily Orange Leader), the pair boosted the Journal circulation and eventually Hobby bought the Journal.[10]
Jefferson-Pilot bought the Enterprise and Journal in 1970.[11] Operating separately under the same company for many years, the Enterprise and Journal merged in 1983.[5] The Hearst Corporation acquired the Enterprise from the Jefferson-Pilot insurance company's publications arm in 1984.[12][13]