The Turlock Journal is a newspaper in Turlock, California. It is owned by 209 Multimedia. The Journal was a daily newspaper until 2004, when it was reduced to twice-weekly publication. It has a paid circulation of approximately 4,000.
History
The first edition of the Turlock Journal was published on Nov. 11, 1904. A nearby paper called the Stanislaus County Weekly News reported on the launch, writing "Turlock has launched another craft on the sea of newspaperdom." The paper was founded by Harry and Jack Randolph. In 1901, Jack sold his interest to Harry and went into the phone business. Harry continued to operated the Journal until just after World War I.
Printer Edwin Earl Ullberg purchased the Turlock Weekly Journal from Harry Randolph on June 1, 1919. Twelve days later he changed the newspaper to a daily production and the name became the Turlock Daily Journal. Ullberg ran into financial difficulties and had to sell the paper. In 2003, Pacific-Sierra head Anthony Allegretti lead a buyout to form a new company, MainStreet Media Group. Ultimately, after a sale to Morris Multimedia in 2004, the Journal switched to twice-weekly publication and refocused its coverage on community news. The newspaper moved offices to 121 S. Center St. in 2019. In 2020, the Journal was sold to 209 Multimedia, owned by publisher Hank Vander Veen.
Miscellany
In September 2004, the Turlock Journal was the first newspaper to begin publishing a full page of Keenspot, Web-based comic strips. The project ended two years later.
Notable staff
- Leonard Wibberley, author of "The Mouse that Roared," worked briefly as a Turlock Journal reporter.
- Paul Stine, a victim of the Zodiac Killer, worked briefly as a Turlock Journal reporter in 1957 after graduating High School.
- Dave Meltzer, journalist and sports historian, best known as the publisher and editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, worked briefly at the Turlock Journal as a sports writer.