The Arizona Republic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Arizona Republic is a newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the state's largest newspaper, and it circulates throughout Arizona.

The Arizona Republic is the foremost newspaper in the city of Phoenix, Arizona (466,926 circ.) and statewide as well. It is owned by the Gannett newspaper chain.

The newspaper was started in the late 1800s, under the name The Arizona Republican. Back then, it was known for its rather racist points of view, particularly against Indians, blacks and Mexicans.

Over the years, the newspaper changed its name and its views on race. During the mid-1990s, the newspaper merged with Phoenix's other large newspaper, The Phoenix Gazette. Also during the 1990s, it gave much coverage to the boxing career of Michael Carbajal, a Mexican-American fighter. During the 2000s, The Arizona Republic has followed the career of another Mexican-American boxer, Jesus Gonzales, very closely. In addition, the newspaper has Hispanic writers such as Mark Armijo and Richard Ruelas, as well as some important black writers.

An investigative reporter for the newspaper, Don Bolles, was the victim of a car-bombing on June 2, 1976, dying eleven days afterwards. He had been lured to a meeting in Phoenix in the course of work on a story and the bomb detonated as he started his car to leave. Retaliation against his pursuit of organized crime in Arizona is thought to be a motive in the murder.

In 1998, a weekly section geared towards college students, "The Rep", went into circulation. Specialized content is also available in the local sections produced for many of the different cities that make up the Phoenix metropolitan area.

One of Arizona's most well known sports writers, Norm Frauenheim, works for The Arizona Republic. Other notable figures include cartoonist Steve Benson, and crime/community issues writer Laurie Roberts.

The Arizona Republic editorial board endorsed President George W. Bush in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

According to the 2005 World Almanac, the Arizona Republic has the 15th highest newspaper circulation in the US.

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