Morning Sentinel
Newspaper in Waterville, Maine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Morning Sentinel is an American daily newspaper published six mornings a week in Waterville, Maine. Printed at the Portland Press Herald press in South Portland, Maine, it covers cities and towns in parts of Franklin, Kennebec, Penobscot and Somerset counties.
- Maine Trust for Local News (2023–present)
- Scott Monroe (acting)
- Jim Evans (managing editor)
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner |
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| Editor |
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| Founded | March 3, 1904, as Waterville Morning Sentinel |
| Headquarters | 31 Front Street, Waterville, Maine 04901, United States |
| Circulation | 13,922 daily |
| OCLC number | 38243825 |
| Website | centralmaine.com |
The publication was run between 2000 and 2023 by MaineToday Media. In August 2023, it was announced that it had been acquired by a non-profit group of Maine newspapers, Maine Trust for Local News.[1]
History
Founded in 1904 by officials of the Waterville Democratic Party—Waterville mayor Cyrus Davis; future U.S. Senator Charles Fletcher Johnson; and future mayor L. Eugene Thayer, leavened by newspaper veteran Thomas F. Murphy—the Waterville Morning Sentinel, within a year, grew from a three-desk operation to requiring its own building, on Silver Street.[2]
In 1911, a financially ailing Davis sold the paper to bond holders; ten years later, it was bought by Guy Gannett, who was in the process of building a newspaper, radio and television empire in Maine. His holdings included the Portland Press Herald and, after 1929, the Sentinel's in-county competitor, the Kennebec Journal.[2]
Gannett's ownership also saw the paper become less politically biased.[2] Gannett and his heirs—no relation to the Virginia-based chain called Gannett Company—held the three Maine dailies until 1998, when they sold them to The Seattle Times Company, which rechristened the chain "Blethen Maine Newspapers".
Frank Blethen, a descendant of Seattle Times founder Albert Blethen, a Maine native, later called the purchase "the largest and riskiest investment in our history" but a necessary move to keep the newspapers from becoming part of a corporate chain.[3]
It was sold in 2009 to MaineToday Media.[4] In December, the newspaper was criticized for firing one of its journalists who had made negative remarks about the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign.[5][6][7]
Starting in April 2025, the paper will be printed five days a week instead of six and will be delivered by mail via U.S. Postal Service instead of newspaper carriers.[8]