The Berkshire Eagle
The Berkshire Eagle is an American daily newspaper published in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and covering all of Berkshire County, as well as four New York communities near Pittsfield. It is considered a newspaper of record for Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Published daily since 1892, "The Eagle" has been owned since 1 May 2016 by a group of local Berkshire County investors, who purchased "The Eagle" and its three Vermont sister newspapers for an undisclosed sum from Digital First Media. For four consecutive years, 2018-2021, "The Eagle's" weekend edition has been named Newspaper of the Year in its  circulation class by the New England Newspaper & Press Association. History. Origins. "The Eagle"'s roots go back to a weekly newspaper, the "Western Star", founded in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1789. Over time, this newspaper changed its name, ownership, and place of publication multiple times, but maintained continuity of publication: Miller era. The weekly "Berkshire County Eagle" was purchased by Kelton Bedell Miller in 1891. The following year, on May 9, 1892, it commenced daily publication as "The Berkshire Evening Eagle". "The Berkshire County Eagle", however, remained a part of the paper, as a weekly section within the Wednesday edition of  the daily, until 24 June 1953. The Miller family retained ownership until 1995. After Kelton Bedell Miller died in 1941, ownership passed to his sons, Lawrence K. Miller and Donald B. Miller, as editor and publisher, respectively. The Miller brothers focused on hiring talent and building the quality of "The Eagle's" newsroom. The newspaper became known as a great place for graduates of journalism schools to begin their careers, and many of those reporters went on to renowned careers throughout the journalistic world in publications such as "The New York Times," "The Washington Post", "The" "Wall Street Journal", "Time  magazine and others. In a 1973 Time" magazine article about "The Eagle", then "Boston Globe" editor Thomas Winship is quoted as calling "The Eagle" the best newspaper “of its size in the country.” The article mentions that the paper carried occasional book reviews from Berkshire County residents such as James MacGregor Burns and William L. Shirer. At the time, the paper had nearly 20 local columnists, 23 stringers and a staff of 35, considered large for a paper its size. (Circulation was 32,000 at the time.) Press critic Ben Bagdikian in 1973 stated that there were only three great newspapers  in the world: "The New York Times", "Le Monde", and "The Berkshire Eagle". "The Washington Post", where he had served as editor and ombudsman, he said at the time, was “not yet a great paper.” "The Eagle" launched a Sunday edition in 1987. The next and final generation of Miller owners was headed by Michael G. Miller, grandson of Kelton Bedell Miller, who founded the paper. Michael was then president of The Eagle Publishing Company which in 1995 owned "The Eagle", the "Middletown Press" in Middletown, Connecticut, and two daily newspapers in Vermont: the "Bennington Banner" and the "Brattleboro Reformer , as well as a weekly newspaper, the Journal" in Manchester, Vermont; his brother Mark C. Miller was editor of "The Eagle", while brother Kelton B. Miller II was publisher of the Vermont newspapers. A sister, Margo Miller, a writer for "The Boston Globe", sat on Eagle Publishing's board. In 1989, the Millers chose to renovate, as a new headquarters and printing plant for their company, a former Sheaffer-Eaton stationery company paper converting factory in Pittsfield. As a result of a recession, the company was unable to service the debt it had assumed to finance this $23.5 million  project. Failing to find a white knight to help them weather the fiscal storm that ensued, in 1995 the Millers sold their holdings to MediaNews Group, a company founded by William Dean Singleton of Denver, Colorado. MediaNews era. The transaction closed on September 1, 1995. Simultaneously, MediaNews Group sold the "Middletown Press" to the Journal Register Company. The following year, MediaNews added the "North Adams Transcript" to its western New England holdings. In January 2014, the "Transcript" ceased operations and was merged into "The Eagle". Immediately upon acquiring "The Eagle", MediaNews group reduced the newsroom staff of 40 by more  than 25 percent. Later under MediaNews management, as newspapers in general faced increasing financial challenges there were multiple rounds of staff reductions as various functions were consolidated into centralized locations on a regional or national basis. All the while, subscription prices were increased despite falling circulation levels. Return to local ownership. In April 2016, a team of local investors bought "The Eagle," along with its Vermont sister newspapers the "Bennington Banner", "Brattleboro Reformer" and "Manchester Journal", from Digital First Media (DFM), the new name of MediaNews Group. The investor team consisted of former Visa Inc. President John C. "Hans" Morris , local retired judge Fredric D. Rutberg, M&T Bank Chairman Robert G. Wilmers and Stanford Lipsey, former publisher of "The Buffalo News" and former owner of The Sun Newspaper Group of Nebraska. Lipsey died November 1, 2016. Wilmers died in December, 2017. In introducing the new ownership and its goals to "The Eagle's" readership, Rutberg wrote: “The goal is to make "The Eagle" a part of the finest community newspaper group in America,” Rutberg wrote. “Our business plan is simple. By improving the quality and quantity of the content in our publications, we expect to increase our readership which will , in turn, increase our revenues, and ensure the future of these publications.” Under the new owners, "The Eagle" has been able to hire additional newsroom staff, expanded its investigative team, and has launched new content including a Sunday arts-focused section called Landscapes. The new ownership group also invested in new systems in order to transition off the centralized DFM technical infrastructure, including a new content management system. They established a community advisory board including journalists Linda Greenhouse and Donald Morrison, and authors Simon Winchester and Elizabeth Kolbert, all of whom have Berkshire area connections, and representatives of many local  non-profits and businesses. In October, 2020, in response to economic challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, The Eagle reduced its print frequency to five days per week, Tuesday through Saturday, with the traditional Sunday package of supplements and inserts moving into the Saturday slot. On Mondays, while there is no printed paper, an electronic facsimile of a printed newspaper is available, and the paper's website is updated seven days a week. The paper also announced a new strategic direction it calls Being Digital, which entails "moderniz[ing] and enhanc[ing] our digital presence by expanding our use of digital tools  in our reporting that incorporates the use of podcasts, video, interactive graphics, and links to underlying references and sources." In May, 2021, New England Newspapers, Inc. sold its Vermont newspapers to Vermont News and Media LLC, a company owned by Paul Belogour, a software entrepreneur. In November, 2021, The Eagle completed the installation of a new printing press, a Goss Community SSC Magnum. Awards and honors. In 1973, Roger B. Linscott, working at "The Eagle," won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. In 1991, "Eagle" reporter Holly A. Taylor won a George Polk Award for reporting about fiscal mismanagement at  a Pittsfield hospital. Recent awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association have included: In 2019, "The Eagle" received the JFK Commonwealth Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, “for demonstrating the enduring civic value of community journalism.” In 2018, "The Eagle" received the Media Support of Arts Education Award from Arts|Learning, a Massachusetts arts education advocacy organization. Editorial page. Eagle editorials since World War II have leaned slightly to the left of center, with support generally given to Democratic Party candidates (The last Republican presidential candidate endorsed by the paper was Wendell Willkie in 1940.). The editorial page editors , like most of New England, early on railed against the War in Iraq, and were generally critical of Bush Administration's foreign and domestic policies. Prices. Currently, "The Berkshire Eagle" costs $1.50 Tuesday through Friday, and $2.50 on Saturdays. Home delivery plus digital access costs $350 for 52 weeks. Digital-only access costs $179 per year.