Standard plans year-long celebration to mark anniversary
Through the years, times have changed and the newspaper business has been no different. In the 1930s, it was rare for a picture to appear on the front page of the paper, and if it did, it was no bigger than one column wide.
By the 1950s, the Standard advertised the cool, refreshing taste of Coca-Cola for 5 cents a bottle. An ad for Warren Motors on Sparta Street indicated a 1940 Buick convertible was available for $395.
By the mid-1960s, newspaper design began to change. Headlines regularly stretched across the page and it was common to see large pictures on the front. Ann Landers even started giving advice to Standard readers during the mid-’60s.
By 1996, the Standard began using color on the front page of its sections. And in 1999, the newspaper won the first of its four consecutive Sweepstakes Awards for being the best non-daily newspaper in the state.
Times have surely changed. Paperboys no longer hawk copies of the Standard from street corners. The paper costs more than a dime and it’s no longer published just once a week on Thursdays.
But, as the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. And as the Standard prepares to celebrate its 125th birthday, our emphasis continues to be the people of Warren County.
“Community news has been the heart and soul of this newspaper since its inception,” said Standard publisher Patricia Zechman. “There’s no other business or organization in this county dedicated to providing local people with their local news the way the Standard has done for 125 years. It’s something we take great pride in doing.”
In true Standard form, the newspaper is prepared to mark its 125th birthday with a series of celebrations. We will also be adding a weekly feature called “Here’s Looking at U” where we will take a glimpse at some of the people who give Warren County its own unique flavor.
There have been thousands upon thousands of local stories and a countless number of local names that have made their way into the pages of the Standard over the last 125 years. That commitment to local news, and commitment to Warren County, is not going to change.