Gilroy Dispatch

About Gilroy Dispatch

On September 12, 2018, the Gilroy Dispatch celebrated its 150th anniversary — "one of the oldest continuous businesses in the region." Founded on September 12, 1868 as the Gilroy Advocate by G.M. Hanson and C.F. Macy, joined by the Gilroy Dispatch (first published September 12, 1925), the paper chronicled Gilroy's growth "from a small agricultural town to the nation's Garlic Capital." It has survived as daily, twice-weekly and weekly — and today, owned by Weeklys (the Silicon Valley publishing group of Metro Newspapers publisher Dan Pulcrano), it publishes weekly from 7455 Monterey Road, Gilroy, under editor Erik Chalhoub, with sister papers the Hollister Free Lance and the Morgan Hill Times.

1868: the Gilroy Advocate

On September 12, 1868 — "just a few years after the Civil War's conclusion" — G.M. Hanson and C.F. Macy published the first edition of the Gilroy Advocate, a weekly operating from second-story offices above Hall's Clothing Store at 6th Street and Monterey Road, "openly declar[ing] themselves a Union Republican Party-affiliated paper." Frederick W. Blake purchased the paper in 1877 and published it until his death in 1907; it passed to his son William F. Blake. Rivals came and went — the California Weekly Leader (1869), the Enterprise (1871), the short-lived Gilroy Union (1869–1872), the Valley Record/Gilroy Gazette — but the Advocate "remained the principal conservative paper in town."

1925: the Gilroy Dispatch is born

On September 12, 1925 — exactly 57 years after the Advocate's founding — John N. Hall and Thomas Losey published the first edition of the Gilroy Dispatch. Losey sold his stake to Al Nedom in 1926; Lloyd E. Smith bought out Nedom in 1928 and Hall two years later, then bought the Gilroy Advocate itself in 1933 from William F. Blake — uniting the rivals. In 1939, Smith sold to Anderson Browne and James W. Marmaduke. In 1941, William G. Werner bought the Dispatch — then a five-day daily — plus the weekly Advocate and the Gilroy Advertiser shopper; "at some point the Advocate was absorbed into the Dispatch," and the 1868 lineage continued under the Dispatch name.

The Werner and McClatchy years

In 1949, Werner sold the Dispatch to Joseph C. Houghteling, Patrick H. Peabody and George R. Kane. In 1972, Jerry Fuchs and Millard Hoyle bought it; in 1978 they sold it to El Dorado Newspapers Publishing Co., a McClatchy subsidiary — circulation then 6,500. In 1997, McClatchy sold the Dispatch, Morgan Hill Times, Hollister Free Lance and Amador Ledger-Dispatch to Central Valley Publishing (managed by USMedia Group); the name later became Pacific Sierra Publishing. In 2004, Mainstreet Media purchased ten publications from Pacific Sierra, including the Dispatch. In April 2014, New SV Media Inc. — a subsidiary of San Jose's Metro Newspapers — purchased the Dispatch, Morgan Hill Times, Hollister Free Lance and Santa Cruz Good Times. Today the owner is listed as Weeklys; publisher Dan Pulcrano, editor Erik Chalhoub.

From daily to twice-weekly to weekly

The Dispatch was once a five-day daily (Tuesday through Saturday). In 2008, publisher Steve Staloch announced the cut to a twice-weekly (Tuesday and Friday) — "the newspaper industry is in transition" — with a redesigned website and the promise of "a Gilroy Dispatch every day" online. The paper's frequency has since settled to weekly. Through every change, "the Dispatch is most proud of the trust it has earned by the Gilroy community" — in Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren's 2018 tribute words, "a true milestone, its 150th anniversary" of "service, fellowship, and leadership."

Chronicler of the Garlic Capital

"The Dispatch has chronicled the community's growth from a small agricultural town to the nation's Garlic Capital." Its pages "have accounted for stories of all sizes and angles... wars, fires, earthquakes, floods as well as new schools, big harvests and citizen achievements." It serves "as both a spotlight and watchdog for neighbors and readers alike on the changes and developments in Gilroy." Despite industry awards over the years, its proudest asset is community trust.

The Dispatch today

From the Advocate of 1868 through the daily Dispatch of the 20th century to today's weekly, the paper at 7455 Monterey Road remains Gilroy's printed news source — with sisters in Morgan Hill and Hollister, under Weeklys. Its official website is gilroydispatch.com.

The Blake family: 1877–1933

Frederick W. Blake "purchased the paper in 1877 and published it until his death in 1907" — a 30-year proprietorship — and "the Advocate was passed down to his son William F. Blake." The Blake era spanned Gilroy's transformation from frontier town to agricultural center. The Advocate faced rivals: "the California Weekly Leader (1869) and the Enterprise (1871), a semiweekly paper"; "a shortlived paper, the Gilroy Union operated from 1869-1872"; "The Enterprise became the Gilroy Telegram in 1870, and then promptly closed after the 1872 political campaign, leaving only the conservative Gilroy Advocate paper." As Gilroy grew more liberal, "The Valley Record, another weekly paper opened in 1881, but changed its name in 1885 after a sale to the Gilroy Gazette" — "the Gilroy Advocate remained the principal conservative paper in town, but the Gilroy Gazette became a more liberal-leaning paper." The Advocate outlasted them all.

Lloyd E. Smith unites the rivals: 1928–1939

Lloyd E. Smith "sold the Anderson News and bought out Nedom in 1928, and then John N. Hall two years later" — consolidating the young Dispatch. Then, in 1933, "Smith bought the Gilroy Advocate in 1933 from William F. Blake" — uniting the 1868 Advocate with the 1925 Dispatch under one owner, ending 65 years of rivalry. "Six years later Smith sold his papers in 1939 to Anderson Browne and James W. Marmaduke. A few months later Smith bought the Los Gatos Times." The united paper carried both lineages forward; "at some point the Advocate was absorbed into the Dispatch," and the 1868 founding date became the Dispatch's own.

The 2018 sesquicentennial

On September 7, 2018, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren rose "to pay tribute to the Gilroy Dispatch... On September 12, 2018, the Gilroy Dispatch will celebrate a true milestone, its 150th anniversary." Her tribute: "Founded initially as the Gilroy Advocate, the Dispatch is one of the oldest continuous businesses in the region. The Dispatch has chronicled the community's growth from a small agricultural town to the nation's Garlic Capital." She praised its role "connecting neighbors to each other and to small businesses," its service "as both a spotlight and watchdog," and its pages' record of "wars, fires, earthquakes, floods as well as new schools, big harvests and citizen achievements." "Despite its many awards over the years, the Dispatch is most proud of the trust it has earned by the Gilroy community." A century and a half, honored on the House floor.

The Dispatch today

The Gilroy Dispatch publishes weekly from 7455 Monterey Road, Gilroy, California 95020 — owned by Weeklys, with publisher Dan Pulcrano and editor Erik Chalhoub, and sister newspapers the Hollister Free Lance and Morgan Hill Times. The Santa Clara County Library catalogs it as "Newspaper, 1868-, In-library use only" — the unbroken run, available to researchers. From the five-day daily of the 20th century through the twice-weekly years to today's weekly, it remains "the local printed news source for the City of Gilroy." Its official website is gilroydispatch.com.