Cleveland County Schools Revenue and Competitors

The Star traces its roots to August 1894 when The Cleveland Star began publication under the editorship of 17-year-old Clyde R. Hoey. Four years earlier, young Hoey launched his newspaper apprenticeship in The Shelby Review printshop, the domain of owner-editor Capt. John C. Tipton, a flamboyant ex-Confederate officer from Texas. Capt. Tipton later sold his newspaper to Hoey. Hoey wanted a new name for the paper and an aggressive approach to local news-gathering. He changed the name to The Cleveland Star. Hoey wanted to sell more papers and decided to broaden the paper's appeal. The Cleveland Star's circulation of 500 began to increase when, following the journalism style of the 1890s, it began promoting Hoey's strong political beliefs. By 1910, politics and legal matters were taking up so much of Hoey's time that he turned over the newspaper editorship to W.T. Hudson, formerly chief clerk in the state auditor's office. Hoey approached Shelby native and Charlotte Observer writer Lee B. Weathers in 1911 and offered him an opportunity to buy stock in the Star Publishing Co. Weathers accepted the offer and became chief executive of the newspaper, a position he held until his death in 1958. The Star grew from a bi-weekly in 1911 to tri-weekly in 1934. In the fall of 1936, Weathers changed the name to The Shelby Daily Star. Upon his death, Weathers was succeeded at The Star's helm by his son, Henry Lee Weathers, who remained publisher until the newspaper was sold to Clay Communications in 1983. The paper later was sold to Thompson Newspapers and in May 1997 was purchased by Freedom Communications, a diversified media company based in Irvine, Calif. Though Freedom has its roots in the newspaper business, it has diversified into a multifaceted information company that includes TV stations, web sites, mobile applications and special interest publications. The company would have been called Hoiles Newspapers - and later Hoiles Communications - if founder R.C. Hoiles hadn't insisted that the concept of freedom, or individual liberty, was more important than putting his own name on the front door. Freedom has been family-owned for more than four generations. Freedom publishes 28 daily newspapers, 37 weekly newspapers, and owns eight network-affiliated television stations. Combined daily circulation of the Freedom newspapers exceeds 1.2 million. Each of the television stations is a leader in its market. Freedom is the 14th largest U.S. newspaper company. Today, the newspaper publishes a daily print edition and a multi-media Web site in addition to a monthly Hispanic edition, La Estrella. The Star's array of specialty publications reach an additional audience with special interests.