Encyclopedia Dubuque

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From Encyclopedia Dubuque

WITNESS (THE). Northeast Iowa's largest weekly newspaper. Father Thomas RALPH edited this Catholic newspaper for members of the ARCHDIOCESE OF DUBUQUE beginning in 1937. The potential market of the paper has been estimated at seventy-two thousand Catholic families living in thirty counties.

Printed by the TELEGRAPH HERALD, the typical ten-page issue of The Witness was primarily devoted to national and international news with additional space given to local topics. The Witness specialized in more local news prior to the Second Vatican Council in 1962. The non-profit newspaper has been published with an editorial staff of two people and a total staff of ten.

In 1973 the Witness began receiving its news by wire instead of the U.S. Postal Service. The Witness joined the teletype network of the National Catholic (NC) News Service which linked Roman Catholic newspapers around the United States. The Washington, D.C. office was the principal source of news and features for the national Catholic press. The teletype system, leased from the Dow-Jones wire circuit, allowed NC to dispatch stories to subscribers as they happened rather than using daily air mail-special delivery packets.