WOODWARD COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

WOODWARD COMMUNICATIONS, INC. Woodward Communications, Inc. is a corporation whose flagship publication, the TELEGRAPH HERALD traced its heritage to the DUBUQUE VISITOR founded in 1836 by John KING. Fred W. WOODWARD joined the Telegraph in 1898 as a carrier. He progressed through the administrative offices and became secretary of the newspaper in 1915. Upon the death of publisher Patrick J. QUIGLEY, Woodward bought the controlling interest.

Woodward Communications, Inc., through its subsidiaries, published newspapers and weekly publications, and magazines. It has also operated radio and offers advertising services in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. It published newspapers, such as daily paid newspapers and weekly newspapers that provide news, sports and commentary, retail and classified advertising, and information for readers and advertisers; community papers; a hometown newspaper that provides weekly information in the Cascade area; and an official paper. (1)

The company operated THonline.com, which provided Dubuque-area news, weather, and sports on the Internet; and AccessDubuque.com, a newspaper's online marketplace and community portal. It operated radio stations that provided local and national news, music, sports, and talks; and information and insights across a range of entertaining topics. (2)

The firm offered printing services, such as Web and sheet-fed printing, bindery, and mailing and delivery services. It published monthly print and digital magazines, operated business-to-business Websites, and produced monthly industry and custom e-newsletters; provided dealers, distributors, and manufacturers a marketplace to buy and sell new and used equipment, and products and special services in the material handling marketplace; operated a business-to-government Website and produced customized e-newsletters, and training, as well as offers interactive tools for municipal professionals; offered monthly print and digital magazines, monthly industry e-newsletters, and tradeshows and Webinars for engineering, operations, and maintenance of electric power plants; and provided business-to-business and integrated marketing services for agriculture, heavy equipment, construction, and manufacturing sectors. (3)

Formerly known as Dubuque Telegraph Herald Corporation, the company changed its name to Woodward Communications, Inc. in 1981 to reflect the company's growth. WCI owned, in addition to the Telegraph Herald, RADIO stations in Appleton, Wisconsin; KDTH/KA T-FM in Dubuque; and the Eastern Iowa Shopper in Edgewood, Iowa. An international trade publication for the material handling industry was also acquired. In 2012 the company purchased four radio stations in the Cedar Falls-Waterloo market area. (4)

In 1993 Woodward Communications Inc. sold its four radio stations operating in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls market to NRG Media based in Cedar Rapids. Woodward Communications continued to own seven stations in the Appleton-Green Bay, Wisconsin market. (5) In the same year, it purchased two newspapers outside of Madison, Wisconsin adding to its weekly and shopper division. The Courier Hub was founded in the 1870s and the Star Shopper was distributed free in Stoughton, Wisconsin. (6)

In 2017 Woodward Communications officials announced the acquisition of West Branch Communications and more than ten related publications in the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City area. (7) In July 2018 Woodward officials announced the acquisition of the Anamosa Journal-Eureka on August 1st as well as the Anamosa paper's shopper, the Town Crier. The new acquisition joined the Telegraph Herald, Biz-Times, thirteen weekly newspapers, ten shpper and tot-market-coverage publications, several niche publications and Woodward Printing Services. (8)

Officials of the company announced in October, 2022 two acquisitions in Wisconsin. Magna Publications, Inc. of Madison announced that it had sold In Business to WCI including the company's print and digital publications. WCI officials also announced that it had acquired Insight Publications LLC of Appleton, Wisconsin. The company founded in 2007 produced Insight on Business and Insight on Manufacturing which served an 18-county region in northeast Wisconsin. (9)

The TELEGRAPH HERALD (TH Media) and Woodward Communications Inc. have been headquartered at 801 Central.

---

Source:

1. "Company Overview of Woodward Communications, Inc." Bloomberg. Online: http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=695024

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. "Woodward Sells Waterloo Radio Stations," Telegraph Herald, August 23, 2014, p. 3A

5. Ibid.

6. Bergstrom, Kathy. Woodward Communications Buys 2 Newspapers," Telegraph Herald, August 31, 1993, p. 3A

7. "Woodward to Acquire Iowa Media Company," Telegraph Herald, September 23, 2017, p. 3A

8. "Woodward Adding Anamosa Newspaper," Telegraph Herald, July 29, 2018, p. 15A

9. "TH Parent Company Makes 2 Acquisitions in Wisconsin," Telegraph Herald, October 5, 2022, p. 6A