History[edit]

It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the Los Angeles Times, originally the Los Angeles Daily Times, which was first published in 1881 and printed by the company. The two operations were purchased and combined in 1884 to form the Times Mirror Company.^[2]


In 1960, Times Mirror acquired the New American Library (NAL) and later sold it in 1983 to Odyssey Partners, a private investing group, and Ira J. Hechler, a private investor.^[3] Times Mirror acquired the World Publishing Company in 1962.^[4] By this time, World Publishing was producing 12 million books a year,^[5] one of only three American publishers to produce that much volume. In 1974, Times Mirror sold World Publishing to the U.K.-based Collins Publishers.


In 1967, the Times Mirror entered magazine publishing by acquiring Popular Science, Outdoor Life, Golf Magazine, and Ski Magazine.^[1] Times Mirror owned the Sporting News from 1977^[1] until 2000, when it was sold to Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. In 1987, Times Mirror acquired Field & Stream, Yachting, Home Mechanix, and Skiing.^[1]


In 1983, Times Mirror owned not only the Los Angeles Times but also Newsday, The Denver Post, The Dallas Times Herald, and the Hartford Courant.^[3] In 1986, Times Mirror bought A.S. Abell Company, owners of The Baltimore Sun, and as part of the sale, Gillett Communications bought out the broadcasting unit.^[6] That same year, Times Mirror acquired Broadcasting Publications Inc., parent company of broadcast trade magazine Broadcasting Magazine.^[7]


Times Mirror acquired Richard D. Irwin Inc. from Dow Jones & Company in 1988 to enter the textbook field.^[8] Times Mirror acquired Wm. C. Brown Co. in 1992.^[9] Times Mirror sold its textbook operations to McGraw-Hill in 1996.^[10]


Times Mirror also owned C.V. Mosby Company from 1967–1998, which published medical college textbooks and reference books; Harry N. Abrams — a publisher of art and photography books^[3] — from 1966–1997; legal publisher Matthew Bender (from 1963 until 1998^[11]); and air navigation publisher Jeppesen (from 1961 until Times Mirror was acquired by the Tribune Company). Subsequent acquisitions, like The Baltimore Sun in 1986, expanded the company's portfolio.^[12]


Times Mirror Co. was acquired by the Tribune Company in 2000.^[13][14] After the acquisition, Tribune sold Jeppesen to Boeing and the former Times Mirror magazines to Time Inc.^[15][16]