The Roanoke Times

The Roanoke Times
The July 27, 2005 front page of The Roanoke Times
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner	Landmark Communications
Publisher	Debbie Meade
Editor	Carole Tarrant
Founded	1886
Headquarters	201 West Campbell Avenue Roanoke, Virginia 24010-2491  United States
Circulation	97,000 Morning 106,000 Sunday[1]
Website: roanoke.com

The Roanoke Times is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia. It is published by Landmark Communications. The Roanoke Times has an office in Richmond, VA, and maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, VA covering the New River Valley and Virginia Tech.

According to Scarborough’s “Ranker Report,” produced every six months, The Roanoke Times ranks first in the country in terms of percentage of adults reading a newspaper on weekdays in that newspaper's coverage area.

On January 3, 2008, it was reported that the family owned Landmark Communications, parent company of the Times, may be for sale.^[2] A subsequent sale by Landmark Communications of its wildly successful Weather Channel gave rise to reports that the rest of the parent company of The Roanoke Times might be dismembered.

[edit] History

From the mid 1970s until June 30, 1995, the newspaper was known as The Roanoke Times & World-News. Prior to the mid 1970s, the morning Roanoke Times and the afternoon Roanoke World-News published separate editions.

[edit] Notable stories

As the major daily newspaper for Roanoke and much of Southwest Virginia, The Roanoke Times has extensively covered news events from the area that have gained national media exposure. Some examples include:

• International Marketing & Engineering Inc., investigated by The Roanoke Times, 1979, subsequently featured by Harry Reasoner in a CBS "60 Minutes" report on the company engaged in deceptive sales practices, whose officers were later sentenced to prison
• The November 4, 1985, flood that caused extensive damage around Roanoke and left 10 people dead.
• The September 22, 2000, shooting at the Backstreet Cafe in downtown Roanoke motivated by the establishment's gay and lesbian clientele.
• The April 16, 2007, shooting at Virginia Tech, which claimed 32 lives.

[edit] Notable writers and columnists

• Bill Brill, writer and columnist 1956-1991, sports editor 1960-1991
• Ben Beagle, longtime reporter and humor columnist, retired but still contributes the column

[edit] References

1. ^ "Landmark Metro Newspapers: The Roanoke Times". Landmark Communications, Inc.. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.
2. ^ "Battens may sell The Roanoke Times' parent company", The Roanoke Times (2008-01-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-03. 

[edit] External links

• The Roanoke Times